The UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet strongly condemned on Monday the conviction of Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison by a military court and called for her immediate release.
According to Bachelet, 76-year-old Suu Kyi’s conviction will only deepen rejection of the coup since it closes another door to political dialogue in Myanmar, where the military took power on Feb. 1.
She called the conviction of the current state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi politically motivated since it’s a result of a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court which jailed the ousted civilian leader for inciting dissent against the military and breaching COVID-19 rules.
The junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun pointed that Suu Kyi was sentenced to two years under section 505(b) and two years under the natural disaster law.
Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle against military rule, was charged for inciting in connection with the National League for Democracy party’s posts the shared online after the detention of its leaders, including her, calling on other nations not to cooperate with the junta.
The violation on which the second charge was based – allegedly occurred during an election campaign event in November 2020 when Suu Kyi waved to the party campaign convoy passing in front of her house in Naypyidaw.
However, she denied breaking the rules of her house arrest.
According to some reports, Suu Kyi faces a total of 11 charges – including misappropriating funds, electoral fraud, and violations of the anti-corruption law – which could send her behind bars for up to 102 years.
The proceedings in the special court in the military-built capital are close for the media, and Suu Kyi’s lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the press.
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