Aung San Suu Kyi faced with new criminal charges

Suu Kyi has been charged with breaching a colonial-era official secrets law, the most serious charge she faces to date.

CAPE TOWN, April 1 (ANA) – Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted leader, has been charged with breaching a colonial-era official secrets law.

The new charge emerged on Thursday and is the most serious to date.

According to The Hindustan Times, Suu Kyi is due to appear in court on criminal charges brought by the country’s military, which may result in her being permanently barred from holding political office.

A conviction under the official secrets law could result in a 14-year prison sentence.

Previously, Suu Kyi and several other elected officials were arrested, with the military accusing the National League of Democracy (NLD) of electoral fraud.

The junta had previously charged her with a slew of minor criminal offences, including unlawfully importing six hand-held radios and violating coronavirus protocols.

Further charges were levelled, alleging that Suu Kyi had received illicit payments totalling US$600,000 and 11.2kg of gold while in office.

Suu Kyi’s attorneys said the allegations were unfounded and dismissed the bribery charge as a joke.

Suu Kyi appeared to be in good health in her first video meeting with one of her attorneys since her detention on February 1.

“Amay looks healthy. Her complexion is good,” her lawyer, Min Min Soe, said, according to Channel News Asia. “Amay” is a word that translates to mother and is a term of affection used to describe the leader.

Suu Kyi’s reign at 75 years old saw her successfully lead the South-east Asian nation from 2016 until the recent coup.

Suu Kyi was under house arrest for 15 years prior to rising to power. She was considered an icon of peace and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her contributions to Burma.

Despite numerous rumours of her role in the Rohingya genocides, her Nobel Peace Prize was never withdrawn. The Myanmar government still refuses to recognise the identity of the Rohingya Muslims.

Suu Kyi was detained on February 1, 2021, when her government was overthrown in a coup d’état that resulted in the deaths of more than 500 civilians.

Myanmar is currently being run by a “murderous, illegal regime”, UN special rapporteur Thomas Andrews told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher