YANGON – The cases against detained Myanmar President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will be processed in line with the law, a senior military official told a press conference in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.
“Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint are detained in safe places and both are in good health,” Zaw Min Tun, head of the State Administration Council’s press team and deputy minister for information, said at the council’s first press conference after state power was handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing.
There are some affairs that need to be addressed through legal action and the council will not do anything that goes beyond the law, reported Xinhua news agency, according to Min Tun.
The first virtual court hearings of the president and Suu Kyi, who were remanded in detention, were held yesterday, Khin Maung Zaw, lawyer of the two leaders, told Xinhua.
Suu Kyi was initially charged under the Export and Import Law, while an additional case was filed later against her for violating the Natural Disaster Management Law. The President was also charged for breaching the Natural Disaster Management Law, the lawyer said.
The next hearings will be held on March 1, noted the lawyer.
A one-year state of emergency was declared in Myanmar after Win Myint and Suu Kyi, along with other officials from the National League for Democracy (NLD), were detained by the military on February 1.
The military had alleged that there was massive voting fraud in the country’s November 2020 general elections, which saw the NLD win a majority of seats in both houses of Parliament.
Myanmar’s Union Election Commission dismissed the allegation.
Earlier this month, the State Administration Council reformed the Union Election Commission, taking steps to review the process of the general elections. – Bernama, February 17, 2021
