YANGON – Myanmar’s junta has filed an eleventh corruption charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it said yesterday, the latest in a slew of indictments against the Nobel laureate who faces more than 150 years in prison.
Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the February 1 coup last year that triggered mass protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent with more than 1,500 civilians killed, according to a local monitoring group.
She has already been sentenced to six years in jail for incitement against the military, breaching Covid-19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law – although she will remain under house arrest while she fights other charges.
Police filed a further corruption charge against Suu Kyi for allegedly receiving US$550,000 as a donation for a charity foundation named after her mother, the junta’s information team said in a statement.
Each corruption charge carries a possible 15-year jail term.
The junta statement gave no details on when court proceedings would begin.
Suu Kyi is already on trial for breaching the official secrets act – where she is accused alongside detained Australian academic Sean Turnell – as well as several other corruption-related charges.
This week the junta announced she will face a further trial beginning mid-February on charges of influencing the country’s election commission during 2020 polls that saw her party defeat a military-aligned rival. – AFP, February 4, 2022
