A Myanmar junta court jailed ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for six years for corruption on Monday, according to a source close to the case.
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A Nobel laureate, Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals staged a coup and toppled her government on February 1 last year. She has since been hit with a series of charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud, and she faces decades in jail if convicted on all counts.
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Suu Kyi was sentenced to “six years imprisonment under four anti-corruption charges,” said the source, who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
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She appeared in good health and did not make any statement following her latest sentencing, the source added.
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Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar’s democratic hopes for more than 30 years, but her earlier six-year sentence already meant she is likely to miss elections the junta says it plans to hold by next year.
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In June, she was transferred from house arrest to a prison in the capital Naypyidaw, where her trial continues in a courthouse inside the prison compound.
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She remains confined to jail in the capital, with her link to the outside world limited to brief pre-trial meetings with lawyers.
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Many of her political allies have also been arrested since the coup, with one chief minister sentenced to 75 years in jail.
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Last month, the junta stoked renewed international condemnation when it executed Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party for offences under anti-terrorism laws.
Source : Tribune
