Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi received a package from Britain's King Charles III on Monday, authorities said, releasing the first pictures of the detained Nobel laureate in two months and describing her as a "special female prisoner".
It is the first time Myanmar authorities have used the term to describe Suu Kyi, who was deposed in a military coup in 2021, triggering an ongoing civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people, according to monitor ACLED.
The coup leader and former junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was installed as civilian president in April following elections that did not include Suu Kyi's party, and she was moved to house arrest soon afterwards.
Home ministry officials met her on Monday to deliver a package of two books — "The Land Gardeners: Soil to Table" and "Soil: The World at Our Feet" — along with a sealed envelope and a diplomatic communication sent by King Charles, according to a social media post from Myanmar's presidential spokesperson.
Britain is Myanmar's former colonial power and the monarch is known to have a keen interest in gardening and the environment.
Accompanying the statement were two images of Suu Kyi meeting two men with their backs to the camera.
The pictures appeared to be in a similar room to the last released images of her, when she met a Red Cross representative in August, her first publicised meeting with a foreign official since her ouster.
Fact-checkers from AFP examined the latest photos and found no evidence of manipulation using Meta Generative AI or OpenAI tools.
Suu Kyi remains detained on charges rights groups say were concocted to return power to the military, which has historically ruled Myanmar since independence.
"I have been extremely lenient toward her," Min Aung Hlaing said in an interview with Time magazine published last month.
The Foreign Office in London did not immediately respond to questions from AFP asking whether British diplomats had sought to deliver the package in person, or been refused permission to do so.
Main photo: In this photo released by Myanmar President Spokesperson Office on Monday, October 19, Myanmar ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks with officials from Home Affairs Ministry as she receives two books and a sealed letter sent by Britain's King Charles III, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.//AFP
