A court in Myanmar has sentenced the country’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in jail, according to media reports.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s military told the AFP news agency that Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty on Monday of incitement and of violating COVID-19 rules.
Former President Win Myint was also jailed for four years under the same charges, he said, adding that the pair will not be taken to prison yet.
“They will face other charges from the places where they are staying now” in the capital Naypyidaw, he said, without giving further details.
The Reuters and the Associated Press news agencies, citing sources familiar with the proceedings, also said Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint were sentenced to four years in prison each.
The trial in Naypyidaw has been closed to the media, while the military has barred Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers from communicating with the media and the public.
The ruling on Monday is the first in a dozen cases the military has brought against the 76-year-old since it deposed her civilian government in a coup on February 1.
Other cases against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate include multiple charges of corruption, violations of a state secrets act, and a telecoms law that altogether carry a maximum sentence of more than a century in prison.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who had spent 15 years in house arrest under a previous military government, denies all the charges.
Her supporters say the cases are baseless and designed to end her political career and tie her up in legal proceedings while the military consolidates power.
Charles Santiago, a Malaysian legislator and chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), condemned Monday’s sentence, calling it a “travesty of justice”.
AFP
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