The Health Of Former Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Who Was Militaryly Detained Worsened

JAKARTA - A former Myanmar leader detained by the military regime, Aung San Suu Kyi, is suffering from worse heart problems and needs immediate medical treatment, her son said, in a request that his mother be immediately released from "cruel and life-threatening" detention.

Kim Aris told Reuters his mother, 80, who has been detained by the military since the coup and the overthrow of government in 2021, had asked to meet with a cardiologist about a month ago. He could not confirm whether his request had been granted.

"Without the right medical examination it is impossible to know the condition of his heart," he said by telephone from London.

"I'm very worried. There's no way to verify if he's still alive."

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate also suffered from bone and gum problems, Aris said, adding it was likely that his mother was injured in an earthquake in March that killed more than 3,700 people.

In a Facebook video, he requested that Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Myanmar be released.

Meanwhile, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told state media on Saturday evening that reports of his health were intended to distract from the visit of Senior Military Leader General Min Aung Hlaing to China to meet with President Xi Jinping and attend military parades.

" Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's health is good. They made up this information because we are in China and our Myanmar leaders are doing so much activity and they want to hide this news," he said on MRTV.

Myanmar has been hit by violence since the military takeover in February 2021, prompting violent mass demonstrations, sparking widespread armed rebellions.

Suu Kyi, a long-standing symbol of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for various offenses including incitement, corruption, and election fraud, all of which she denies.

One of his last public appearances was in court in May 2021, months after the coup, when images shown by state television showed himself sitting upright on the defendant's chair, with his hands on the lap and wearing a surgical mask.

The military confirmed its takeover on the basis of what it called widespread fraud in the election that Suu Kyi's party won, although election monitors found no evidence of fraud.

Foreign governments and human rights groups have consistently called for his release.

Starting at the end of December, the military-backed interim government plans to hold new elections in several stages, which is the first election since elections sparked a coup.

However, anti-junta groups, including Suu Kyi's party, boycotted or banned from running, with only parties supported and approved by the military participating.

The Western government criticized the vote's plan as a step to strengthen the generals' power.