YANGON – A Myanmar junta court today convicted Aung San Suu Kyi of three criminal charges, sentencing her to four years in prison in the latest round of a legal onslaught against the ousted civilian leader.
A source with knowledge of the case said the 76-year-old was found guilty of two charges related to illegally importing and owning walkie-talkies and one of breaking coronavirus rules.
The Nobel laureate has been detained since February 1 when her government was forced out in an early morning coup, ending Myanmar’s short-lived experiment with democracy.
The generals’ power grab triggered widespread dissent, which security forces sought to quell with mass detentions and bloody crackdowns in which more than 1,400 civilians have been killed, according to a local monitoring group.
The walkie-talkie charges stem from when soldiers raided her house on the day of the coup, allegedly discovering the contraband equipment.
But under cross-examination in court hearings, members of the raiding party admitted they had not possessed a warrant for the raid, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Verdicts for these cases have been repeatedly delayed.
The sentence rendered today will add to penalties the court gave her in December when she was jailed for four years for incitement and breaching Covid-19 rules while campaigning.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing cut the sentence to two years and said she could serve her term under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw. – AFP, January 10, 2022
