Suu Kyi gets 2-year jail for incitement

Yangon, December 6

Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had her sentence reduced from four years to two years after a partial pardon by the head of the military-appointed government, the country’s state television reported on Monday.

Earlier on Monday, a court in Myanmar found Suu Kyi, ousted in a February 1 coup, guilty of charges of incitement and breaching Covid restrictions, drawing international outrage at what some critics described as a “sham trial”. President Win Myint was sentenced to four years’ detention, Myanmar’s state-run broadcaster reported.

Both Suu Kyi and Win Myint will serve their sentences where they are currently being detained, an undisclosed location, suggesting they will not be sent to prison.

Nobel peace prize winner Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the coup along with most senior leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Others are abroad or in hiding and no party spokesperson was available for comment.

“The charges were ludicrous, designed as retribution against popular leaders. So the guilty verdicts and prison terms are no surprise,” said Richard Horsey, a Myanmar expert at the International Crisis Group think tank.

Suu Kyi faces a dozen cases that include multiple corruption charges plus violation of a state secrets act, a telecoms law and Covid-19 regulations, which carry combined maximum sentences of more than a century in prison. Western countries have demanded Suu Kyi’s release. — Reuters

Sentence halved

Charged with incitement and breaching of Covid restrictions, ousted leader Suu Kyi has had her sentence reduced from four years to two after a partial pardon by Myanmar’s junta leader.

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