06 December 2021
A special court sentenced Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 4 years of imprisonment on Monday. The court in its verdict found the former Nobel peace prize winner guilty of incitement against the military and violating coronavirus restrictions.
Suu Kyi, 76 has been in detention since February 1 this year, when generals forcibly took power into their hands with a Coup d'état, hence ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.
The junta generals since then have accused her of some serious charges like - violating the official secrets act, corruption, and electoral fraud, for which she could land in prison for decades if convicted on all counts.
Along with her the former president Win Myint was also jailed for four years on the same charges, but both of them would not yet be taken to prison, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP by phone.
Journalists have been barred from attending the special court hearings in Naypyidaw and Suu Kyi's lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.
Amnesty International immediately condemned the sentences against Suu Kyi.
"The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges are the latest example of the military's determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar," said Amnesty deputy regional director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah.