A military court in Myanmar sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional seven years in prison, bringing her total sentence to 33 years. The country’s former democratically elected leader has been under house arrest since the military overthrew the government in a February 2021 coup. Since then, her 19 charges have put her on trial for 18 months, which rights groups say is a hoax. The UN Security Council called for their release last week. She was found guilty on Friday of her final five charges facing her. A court found him guilty of corruption for failing to comply with regulations when hiring helicopters for government ministers.
She had already been convicted of 14 crimes, including violating Covid public safety regulations, importing walkie-talkies, and violating the Public Secrecy Act. Their trial this year was closed to the public, closed to the public and media, and lawyers were barred from speaking to journalists. She has denied all allegations against her.
Last week, the UN Security Council called for an end to violence in Myanmar and the release of all political prisoners. China and Russia abstained and did not veto changes to the resolution. Amnesty International previously said the “relentless legal assault” against Ms. Suu Kyi showed that the military “armed the courts to make politically motivated and ridiculous accusations against her opponents”. said.
The military’s violent power last February sparked widespread demonstrations, with the Myanmar military cracking down on pro-democracy protesters and activists. It also sparked a new civil war between various ethnic rebel groups, the military, and civilian forces opposing the military government. The military government has been accused of extrajudicial killings and airstrikes on civilian villages. More than 2,600 people are estimated to have died in the military crackdown on dissidents so far.
