Burmese Military Regime Condemns Silencing Of Lawyers, Aung San Suu Kyi Says They Have Rights

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

JAKARTA - Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has condemned the military regime's move to silence her lawyers, barring them from speaking publicly about the progress of her trial, urging them to file complaints.

The Myanmar military regime has barred the five members of the State Counsel's legal team from speaking to the media. The gag order was first imposed after the head of the defense team revealed details of President U Win Myint's trial testimony in mid-October, in which he said the Myanmar military had threatened to force him to resign during February 1 coup.

The ousted president's testimony made headlines in local and international media, as it appeared to confirm the illegality of the military takeover.

The Myanmar military argued that the silence was carried out because lawyers were judged to be able to destabilize the country with comments made to the media. Meanwhile, the principle of Myanmar's legal system court cases is not carried out in secret.

Myanmar's military-controlled Public Administration Department issued the latest gag order on October 26, ahead of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial earlier last week. The order led to a blackout of information on all of Myanmar's most high-profile legal cases.

A source said Aung San Suu Kyi was aware of the gag order from her lawyer.

"He said lawyers have the legal right to file complaints with the relevant organizations", he quoted Suu Kyi as saying, as reported by The Irrawaddy, November 1.

Leader and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint have been detained at an undisclosed location in Naypyitaw since their arrest in the February 1 military coup.

Suu Kyi faces 11 charges including alleged possession of an imported walkie-talkie, incitement, alleged violation of COVID-19 restrictions, and corruption. The potential prison sentence for all cases is 102 years.

Lawyers and legal analysts have condemned the gag order as an illegal violation of fundamental judicial rights, for an open trial.

U Khin Maung Myint, a legal adviser, recently told The Irrawaddy, "citizens have the right to see, know and hear that every stage of the trial is fair and lawful. By prohibiting lawyers from informing the public about the trial, the administrative branch exerts influence over the judicial branch. This is a disgraceful act".

To note, both President U Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi appear every week at the special court in Naypyitaw, to answer cases brought against them.

The Myanmar Coup. The editor of VOI continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continue to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by tapping this link.