A military-run court in Burma has sentenced jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six more years in prison after convicting her on four additional counts of corruption. She was originally arrested following a military coup in February 2021 after her National League for Democracy party won in a landslide election.
The latest verdict against the Nobel laureate brings her total jail time to 17 years. Still ahead are trials on nine more charges with a potential maximum sentence totaling 122 years. Aung San Suu Kyi is one of more than 15,000 people arrested for opposing military rule in Burma, and of these, 12,000 remain in detention, according to the NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Many of those imprisoned have been tortured and sentenced by military courts after closed trials where defense attorneys and the public are barred. Convicted prisoners are often transferred to remote prisons, creating additional hardship for them and their families, according to the political prisoners group.
After hanging four pro-democracy activists in July, including the writer and pro-democracy activist U Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, and the former hip-hop artist and member of parliament U Phyo Zeya Thaw, the Burmese regime threatened to execute more. Since the coup, more than 70 political prisoners have been sentenced to death.
Members of the press have also been targeted by the regime. At least 55 journalists are now imprisoned, according to the rights group Detained Journalist Information Myanmar. In July, the reporter Ko Maung Maung Myo with the independent Mekong News Agency was convicted of violating the counterterrorism law and sentenced to six years for possessing photos and interviews with anti-regime groups.
In addition, the Japanese documentary filmmaker Turo Kubota was arrested and faces seven years for inciting public unrest and violating immigration rules.
The Burma military regime’s unjust arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi is an affront to justice and the rule of law. The United States calls on the regime to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unjustly detained, including democratically elected officials and foreigners.
The United States continues to urge the military regime to cease the violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and restore Burma’s path to democracy.
Aung San Suu Kyi Sentenced Again
A military-run court in Burma has sentenced jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to six more years in prison after convicting her on four additional counts of corruption.
