Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to another five years in prison, according to an unidentified official in the judiciary sector.
On Wednesday, rumours regarding the former State Counsellor’s court proceedings spread on social media and were later reported by AP.
This is just one amongst a string of charges piled on the veteran politician by the military, including corruption, breaching natural disaster laws and even the illegal importation of walkie-talkies.
She has, so far, denied most of the charges, including the acceptance of money and gold from her colleague Phyo Min Thein, the former Yangon Region Chief Minister.
After much criticism of the process from the public and legal experts, details of the court cases involving officials in the ousted government have now largely been sequestered, with court sessions occurring at undisclosed locations and lawyers representing the detained officials placed under gag orders.
The total amount of time the 76-year-old Suu Kyi is supposed to serve is now 11 years, with a previous sentence of 6 years for illegally importing walkie-talkies.
The maximum amount of prison time that could be handed to her if found guilty on all charges could be more than 100 years.
“The days of Aung San Suu Kyi as a free woman are effectively over. Destroying popular democracy in Myanmar also means getting rid of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the junta is leaving nothing to chance,” said Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson.
“Wednesday’s additional sentence of five years in prison handed to Aung San Suu Kyi shows once again that Senior General Min Aung Hlaing does not have the slightest intention of opening negotiations with the Myanmar people’s elected representatives,” said Chairperson of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Charles Santiago.
