Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of incitement and another charge and sentenced to four years in prison. Her trial has been widely criticized as a further attempt to roll back democratic gains of recent years.
for the Nobel Peace laureate, who spent 15 years under house arrest for resisting the Southeast Asian nation’s generals but then worked uncomfortably alongside them when they promised to usher in democratic rule.against 76-year-old Suu Kyi, who was arrested when the army seized power on Feb. 1 and prevented her National League for Democracy party from starting a second five-year term in office following a landslide electoral victory.
Yanghee Lee, the former U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, described the charges as well as the verdict as “bogus,” declaring that any trial held in the country is unfair as the judiciary is subservient to the military-installed government. Beijing hopes “all parties in Myanmar will bear in mind the long-term interests of the country, narrow differences and carry on the hard-won democratic transition process,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters Monday.
While she has disputed allegations that army personnel killed Rohingya civilians, torched houses and raped women and she remains immensely popular at home, that stanceThe incitement charge centered on statements posted on the Facebook page of Suu Kyi’s party after she and other party leaders were detained by the military. She was accused of spreading false or inflammatory information that could disturb public order.
Defense lawyers are expected to file appeals in the coming days for Suu Kyi and two colleagues who were also convicted Monday, the legal official who relayed the verdict said. They have argued that Suu Kyi and a co-defendant, former President Win Myint, could not be held responsible for the statements on which the incitment charge was based because they were already in detention when the statements were posted.
Protest marches on Sunday against the military government called for the release of Suu Kyi and others. An army truckA verdict on Suu Kyi’s second count of violating coronavirus restrictions is scheduled for Dec. 14. Other cases against her include the alleged unregistered import and use of walkie-talkies by her security guards; a violation of the Official Secrets Act, in which jailed Australian economist Sean Turnell is a co-defendant; and corruption charges.
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