A Burmese court sentenced, on Monday, December 6, the former head of the civilian government, Aung San Suu Kyi, to two years in prison for inciting public disturbances and violating health rules related to Covid-19. This is the first sentence pronounced against the former leader, pursued by the military junta in power on numerous other charges and which risks ending her days in prison.
The 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has been under house arrest since the February 1 coup. Judged since June, she is indicted for a multitude of offenses: illegal importation of walkie-talkies, sedition, corruption, electoral fraud … Many observers denounce a political trial in order to neutralize the winner of the 2015 elections and 2020.
On the same day, as international reactions increased, the junta leader said in a television statement that Aung San Su Kyi’s sentence had been reduced from four to two years.
The junta has piled up the charges against she, including violation of the law on official secrets, corruption and electoral fraud. She faces decades in prison if found guilty every time. Journalists are prohibited from attending the trial, and Aung Suu Kyi’s lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.
According to a local rights-based NGO, more than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 10,000 arrested as part of the crackdown on dissent since the coup. The Burmese junta seeks to “suffocate freedoms”Amnesty International said in a statement.
“The heavy sentences imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi on the basis of these bogus charges are the latest example of the military’s determination to eliminate all opposition and stifle freedoms in Burma.”
Ming Yu Hah, Deputy Director of Amnesty Internationalin a press release
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, also lamented “A rigged trial with secret proceedings in a military-controlled court is nothing but politically motivated.” She believes that it is not only the denial of the freedom of the Nobel Peace Prize but that this condemnation “also closes a door to political dialogue”.
For the British government, it is a “appalling attempt (…) to stifle the opposition”. “The United Kingdom calls on the regime to release political prisoners, to engage in dialogue and to allow a return to democracy”, Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in a statement.