MYANMAR: Amidst frequent clashes between the junta and resistance forces, and the supposed “ethnic cleansing” campaign against the Muslim minority group, the Rohingyas, Myanmar has now charged deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi with election fraud and sentenced her to a 3-year jail time with hard labour.
On Friday, the Nobel Peace Laureate was found guilty by a judge who gave her a jail sentence of 3 years with harsh labour, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
Suu Kyi, the official opposition figurehead of Myanmar’s junta government, has been imprisoned since a coup at the beginning of last year and has already received a 17-year prison sentence. She vehemently refutes each and every accusation made against her.
The Friday sentencing found her guilty of fraud in a November 2020 general election that her party, National League for Democracy (NLD), won with a landslide legislative majority, trumping a party created by the omnipotent military.
The informant, who wished to maintain anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said it was unclear what hard labour would entail. The source said that co-defendant Win Myint, the deposed president, was given the same sentence.
Requests for comment from the military council’s spokesperson went unanswered right away. The junta has declared that Suu Kyi is receiving a fair trial.
The military seized Myanmar’s control in February 2021 to prevent Suu Kyi’s party from forming a government when reports emerged that there were traces of election fraud. However, independent election observers said the poll was “representative of the will of the people”.
Meanwhile, the NLD denied any election fraud hints and said it had won fairly.
Civil rights and democracy groups, including the UN, have condemned the junta’s false allegations against her and claim that Suu Kyi is facing a “sham trial”.
Suu Kyi has been on trial for more than a year and spent most of her detention time in house arrest due to multiple charges, ranging from corruption and political incitement to leaks of official state secrets, all of which combine to a grand total of more than 190 years in prison.
Her trials have taken place in secret in the nation’s capital, Naypyitaw, and the junta has made few public comments regarding the proceedings. Suu Kyi’s attorneys have been subject to a gag order.
Also Read: Myanmar Court Sentences Aung San Suu Kyi To An Additional 6 Years on Corruption Charges
