According to a legal official, a court in military-run Myanmar has convicted ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption charges and sentenced her to seven years in prison as the culmination of a series of criminal trials over the course of an 18-month trial process.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, a prisoner of the military since a coup in 2021, has now been found guilty of all charges brought against her, including corruption, illegal possession of walkie-talkies, and violating COVID-19 regulations.
She was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday after being found guilty on five counts of corruption in connection with the hiring, upkeep, and purchase of a helicopter for a government minister, a matter in which she is accused of causing “a loss to the state.”
Suu Kyi appeared to be in excellent health, a legal source familiar with the case said to AFP. Suu Kyi was sentenced to a total of 33 years after 18 months of court hearings that rights groups have called a fraud.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous since they were not allowed to speak to the media, stated that “all her cases were resolved and there are no more charges against her.”
Suu Kyi’s attorneys are not permitted to talk before the media, and journalists are not permitted to attend the proceedings.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was given the title of state counsellor, served as the de facto leader of the administration. She was a co-defendant in the same case along with Win Myint, who served as president of her government.
Due to her prior convictions, Aung San Suu Kyi had already served a total of 26 years in prison.
Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group stated that the current issue will be what to do with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Background, allegations
The most recent decision in a string of covert trials in military-run Myanmar convicted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption.
Since a military coup overthrew Ms Suu Kyi’s elected administration in February 2021, she has been under house arrest.
The 76-year-old Nobel Prize winner is accused of a number of crimes, including voter fraud.
Rights organisations have denounced the judicial proceedings as a fraud and she has refuted every claim.
The public and media were prohibited from attending the closed-door sessions in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and Ms Suu Kyi’s attorneys were not permitted to address the media.
She was found guilty of accepting a bribe of $600,000 (£477,000) in cash and gold bars from the previous leader of Yangon, the country’s largest city and region, junta court.
She had previously been convicted guilty of numerous offences, bringing her total prison term to 11 years.
She was found guilty in December of violating public health Covid regulations and inciting discontent against the military. She was also found guilty in January of breaking more Covid regulations by keeping illegal walkie-talkie radios in her home.
Ms Suu Kyi is still facing 10 further corruption accusations, each of which carries a possible 15-year sentence, in addition to allegations of electoral fraud and breaking the official secrets act.
