() — A military-controlled court in Myanmar has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to seven years in prison for corruption, a source familiar with the case told , ending a series of secret and highly politicized proceedings against the ousted former leader. .
This Friday’s verdict is the final punishment meted out to the 77-year-old leader who was forced from power in a violent coup in early 2021.
Friday’s ruling found Suu Kyi guilty of corruption in connection with the purchase, repair and rental of a helicopter for use during natural disasters and state affairs, including rescues and emergencies, the source said.
He now faces a total of 33 years in prison, including three years of hard labor, the source said, meaning he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Aung San Suu Kyi during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 18, 2016. (Credit: Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
Suu Kyi has previously been convicted of multiple crimes, including voter fraud and taking bribes, according to the sources.
She has denied all the charges against her, according to the source, and her lawyers have said they are politically motivated.
She is being held in solitary confinement in a prison in the capital, Naypyidaw, and her trials have taken place behind closed doors, with limited information published by state media and a gag order imposed on her lawyers.
Myanmar has been torn by violence and economic paralysis since the army intervened to prevent Suu Kyi from forming a new government, three months after her party was re-elected in a landslide election against the army-backed opposition.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the punishment of pro-democracy activists in the country since the military took power.
“The convictions are aimed at both permanently marginalizing (Suu Kyi) and undermining and ultimately denying the landslide victory of her NLD (National League for Democracy) party in the November 2020 election,” Phil Robertson said. , deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, in a statement on Friday.
“From start to finish, the junta did everything it could to fabricate cases against him in full confidence that the country’s kangaroo courts would come back with the punitive trials the military wanted.”
Last week, The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called on the military junta to release all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint, in its first resolution passed on the Southeast Asian country since its independence.
In the two years since the military took power, freedoms and rights in Myanmar have deteriorated markedly. State executions have returned and thousands of people have been detained for protesting against the military government.
In November, the junta released more than 6,000 prisoners under an amnesty, state media reported, including a former British ambassador, an Australian economist and a Japanese journalist.
The pardons came after strong criticism of the junta at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
