Myanmar junta jails Suu Kyi for 6 more years for corruption, taking total to 26 years

 

Yangon: Myanmar’s junta sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday to another six years in prison for corruption, a source with knowledge of the case said, taking the Nobel laureate’s total jail time to 26 years.

Suu Kyi ‘was sentenced to three years imprisonment each for two corruption cases’ in which she had been accused of taking bribes from a businessman, the source said, adding that the terms would be served concurrently. Detained since the putsch last year, Suu Kyi has already been convicted of corruption and a clutch of other charges by a closed junta court.

In the latest case, the Nobel laureate — who has been in military custody since the night of the coup — was accused of taking bribes of $550,000 from businessman Maung Weik. Suu Kyi — who denies all charges against her — appeared in good health and would appeal, the source added. She is currently on trial for five other corruption charges. Journalists have been barred from attending the court hearings and Suu Kyi’s lawyers have been banned from speaking to the media.

Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar’s democratic hopes for more than 30 years and was previously a political prisoner. Since February 2021, she has once again been confined by the military, with her link to the outside world now limited to brief pre-trial meetings with lawyers. Many of her political allies have also been arrested since the coup, with one chief minister sentenced to 75 years in jail.

Last year, a military broadcaster aired a video of Maung Weik saying that he had given Suu Kyi $550,000 over several years. Maung Weik said he had donated money to senior government figures for the good of his business. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military seized power, sparking widespread armed resistance.

The junta has responded with a crackdown that rights groups say includes razing villages, mass extrajudicial killings and airstrikes on civilians. More than one million people have been displaced since the coup, according to the United Nations children’s agency. More than 2,300 people have been killed and over 15,000 arrested since the military seized power, according to a local monitoring group.