Myanmar court sentences Aung San Suu Kyi to seven more years in prison in corruption case
This was the last of a string of criminal cases against her.
A Myanmar court on Friday sentenced the country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to seven years in prison in a corruption case – the last of a barrage of criminal lawsuits against her, PTI reported.
The fresh sentence means that Suu Kyi’s total jail term extends to 33 years following a series of prosecutions since the Myanmar military took over the country’s governance in a coup in February 2021. Suu Kyi was ousted following the military takeover and has been under house arrest since then.
In the case that concluded on Friday, Suu Kyi was convicted for five offences under the country’s anti-corruption law. She was held guilty of abusing her position and causing a “loss to the state” by neglecting to follow financial regulations in granting permission to Win Myat Aye, a Cabinet member in her former government, to hire, buy and maintain a helicopter, PTI reported.
Win Myint, who was president in Suu Kyi’s government and a co-accused in the case, was also sentenced to seven years in jail.
Suu Kyi has now been convicted in cases of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, breaching the country’s official secrets act, sedition and election fraud.
The deposed leader’s National League for Democracy party had won a landslide victory in the 2020 general election, but the Army refused to accept the result citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. Many of her party members have been arrested by the junta since the coup.