Ruling first in series of cases against ex-leader ousted by army on Feb. 1
A special court in Myanmar’s capital sentenced the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to four years in prison on Monday after finding her guilty of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions, a legal official said.
The army, whose allied party lost many seats in the election, claimed massive voting fraud, but independent election observers did not detect any major irregularities. Opposition to military rule remains strong 10 months after the army’s takeover, and the verdict may inflame tensions even further. Suu Kyi’s lawyers sought vigorously to have the incitement charge dismissed. The prosecution’s evidence consisted of statements posted on a Facebook page of Suu Kyi’s party. Defense lawyers argued that Suu Kyi and a co-defendant, former President Win Myint, could not be held responsible for the statements – which criticized the takeover and suggested in broad terms that it be resisted – because they were already in detention.
With severe restrictions on nonviolent protest, armed resistance has grown in the cities and countryside, to the point that U.N. experts have warned the country is sliding into civil war. Other cases against Suu Kyi now being tried cover the alleged unregistered import and use of walkie-talkies by her security guards; violation of the Official Secrets Act, in which jailed Australian economist Sean Turnell is a co-defendant; and four separate corruption charges covering the alleged acceptance of a bribe and abuse of office to obtain favourable terms on property transactions. Each of the corruption charges has a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine.