She was convicted on four extra counts of corruption in a trial held behind closed doors with no media or public access and lawyers forbidden by a gag order to say information about proceedings. Source: World Economic Forum, Flickr.
A court in the military-controlled Myanmar has sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six more years in prison.
The Nobel laureate was convicted on four extra counts of corruption in a trial held behind closed doors with no media or public access and lawyers forbidden by a gag order to say information about proceedings.
It now brings the 77-year old’s total jail term to 17 years.
In the four corruption cases, it was alleged Suu Kyi abused her position to rent public land at below market prices and that she built a residence using donations meant for charitable purposes.
Prosecutors argued that the residence was built through the misuse of funds from the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, an organisation she founded promoting health and education.
Suu Kyi received sentences of three years for each of the four counts but three of the sentences will be served concurrently, giving her six more years.
She has denied all charges and her lawyers are expected to appeal.
The elected government was ousted and Suu Kyi was detained back in February 2021.
The numerous charges against her and her allies has been widely condemned around the world and labelled an attempt to legitimise the military while removing her from politics before they hold an election promised for next year.
She has been kept in solitary confinement inside a compound with quarters separate from other detainees since June.
The latest verdict against Suu Kyi came as the UN’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, travelled to the country to “focus on addressing the deteriorating situation and immediate concerns as well as other priority areas of her mandate,” according to a UN statement.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis led by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc have made little headway, with the generals refusing to engage with opponents.
