Aung San Suu Kyi Sentenced To Five Years In Prison In Corruption Case, Maximum Total Sentence Can Reach 190 Years

Aung San Suu Kyi. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Department of State)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to prison again. This time, a court ruled by the military junta handed him a five-year sentence, finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her, according to sources familiar with the trial.

The Nobel laureate, who ruled Myanmar for five years before being forced from power in a coup in early 2021, has been charged with at least 18 offences, which carry a combined maximum prison sentence of nearly 190 years if convicted in full.

A judge in the capital, Naypyitaw, handed down the verdict moments after the trial was held, said the source, who declined to be named because the trial was held behind closed doors, with limited information.

Cited from Reuters, April 27, it was not immediately clear whether Suu Ky, 76, a figure in Myanmar's struggle against the military dictatorship, would be transferred to prison to serve her sentence.

Since her arrest, she has been held at an undisclosed location, where junta head Senior General Min Aung Hlaing previously said she could have stayed after previous sentences in December and January for relatively minor offences, for which she had been sentenced to six years.

A spokesman for the military government could not immediately be reached for comment.

The latest case centers on allegations that Suu Kyi received 11.4 kg (402 oz) of gold and cash payments totaling $600.000 from her 'protégé-turned-accuser', former chief minister of Yangon city, Phyo Min Thein. Suu Kyi called the accusations 'absurd'.

Separately, Nay Phone Latt, a former official in Suu Kyi's ousted ruling party, said any court decision was temporary, as military rule would not last long.

"We don't recognize the decisions, laws, or trials of the terrorist junta. The people don't recognize them either," said Nay Phone Latt, who belongs to the National Unity Government (NUG) which has declared a popular uprising against military rule.

"I don't care how long they want the sentence to be, whether it's one year, two years, or whatever they want. It's not going to last long."

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, with the international community rejecting the trial as a joke and demanding Suu Kyi's release. The military regime has also refused permission to visit Suu Kyi, including by the Southeast Asian special envoy trying to end the crisis.

The military regime says Suu Kyi is being tried because she committed the crime, and is undergoing legal proceedings by an independent court. The regime rejects international criticism as meddling in the affairs of a sovereign state.

Since her arrest on the morning of last year's February 1 coup, Suu Kyi has been charged with crimes ranging from violations of electoral laws and state secrets, to sedition and corruption, charges her supporters say are fabricated to kill any chance of a political comeback.

In the matter of the Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to unify the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.