Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Wednesday, May 08, 2024

Myanmar's Suu Kyi faces six years in jail after new sentences -source

Myanmar's Suu Kyi faces six years in jail after new sentences -source

A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Monday sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in jail on charges including possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies, a source familiar with the proceedings said.

The latest sentencing in legal proceedings that rights groups have criticised as a farce and a "courtroom circus" means she faces a six-year jail term after two convictions last month.

She is on trial in nearly a dozen cases that carry combined maximum sentences of more than 100 years in prison. She denies all charges.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, 76, appeared calm when the verdict was read out on Monday in a court in the capital, Naypyitaw, said another source with knowledge of the court proceedings.

Suu Kyi was detained on the day of the Feb. 1 coup and days later, police said six illegally imported walkie-talkies were found during a search of her home.

International human rights groups, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the United States assailed the news, with U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price calling the convictions "an affront to justice and the rule of law" and demanding the release of Suu Kyi and other political detainees.

The court handed her a two-year sentence for breaching an export-import law by possessing the handheld radios and one year for having a set of signal jammers. The two sentences will run concurrently, said the source.

She was also sentenced to two years on another charge of breaching a natural disaster management law related to coronavirus rules, the source said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup against Suu Kyi's democratically elected government led to widespread protests and signalled the end of 10 years of tentative political reforms that followed decades of strict military rule.

On Dec. 6, she received a four-year jail sentence for incitement and breaching coronavirus rules.

That sentence, which was later reduced to two years, was met by a chorus of international condemnation.

The United States, along with other Western nations, has levelled sanctions against the Myanmar military and its businesses since the coup.

Rights group Amnesty International said on Twitter on Monday the new convictions were "the latest act in the farcical trial against the civilian leader."

"The latest verdict against Aung San Suu Kyi is a politically motivated verdict. Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be the leading champion of democracy in Myanmar," Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, told Reuters.

"The Nobel Committee is deeply concerned about her situation," she added.

SECRETIVE TRIAL


Suu Kyi's supporters say the cases against her are baseless and designed to end her political career and leave the military free to wield power untrammelled by any challenge.

The junta says Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent court led by a judge appointed by her own administration. A spokesman for the military council could not be immediately reached for comment.

Her trial has been closed to the media and Suu Kyi's lawyers have been barred from communicating with the media and public.

The military has not disclosed where Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest under a previous military government, is being detained.

"The Myanmar junta’s courtroom circus of secret proceedings on bogus charges is all about steadily piling up more convictions ... so that she will remain in prison indefinitely," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

In some recent court hearings, Suu Kyi has been wearing a white top and a brown wraparound longyi typically worn by Myanmar prisoners, sources have said.

Military ruler Min Aung Hlaing last month said Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint would remain in the same location during their trials and would not be sent to prison.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen did not seek to meet Suu Kyi during a visit to the country last week for talks with its military rulers.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×