Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to four years in jail

YANGON: A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced on Monday ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in jail on several charges including possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies.

The court handed down a two-year sentence to Suu Kyi for breaching the export-import law by possessing the handheld radios and one year for having a set of signal jammers.

The two sentences will run concurrently. She was also sentenced to two years on another charge of breaching the natural disaster management law related to coronavirus rules.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, aged 76, is on trial in nearly a dozen cases that carry combined maximum sentences of more than 100 years in prison. She denies all charges.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a coup against Suu Kyi’s elected government led to widespread protests and raised international concern about political reforms since the end of decades of military rule.

Suu Kyi was detained the same day as the coup and days after, a police document said six illegally imported walkie-talkies were found during a search of her home.

On December 6, she received a four-year jail sentence for incitement and breaching coronavirus rules. The sentence, which was later reduced to two years, was met by international condemnation nad described as a sham trial.

Suu Kyi’s supporters say the cases against her are baseless and designed to end her political career while the military consolidates power. The junta says Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent court led by a judge appointed by her own administration.

Her trial in the capital, Naypyitaw, 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. In some recent court hearings, Suu Kyi has been wearing a white top and a brown wraparound longyi typically worn by Myanmar prisoners.

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.