Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader, 76-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced today, December 6, to four years in prison by the military regime for “inciting public disorder” and “violating epidemic health regulations,” causing an international outcry. The head of the military regime then announced that her sentence would be reduced by two years.
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (file photo) Stan HONDA AFP/Archivos
Burma’s pro-democracy leader, 76-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced to four years in prison today, December 6, by the military regime for “inciting public disorder” and “violating epidemic health regulations,” causing an international outcry. Then the head of the military regime announced that her sentence would be reduced by two years.
The 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been under house arrest since the Feb. 1 army coup, the first sentence handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi by the military regime, which, according to sources quoted by AFP, has many more charges in the pipeline. Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to spend the rest of her life in prison.
Following the news of Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence, the EU “strongly condemned” the “politically motivated sentence”, saying it “constitutes another major setback for democracy”. The EU-27 said “this procedure is a clear attempt to exclude democratically elected leaders (……) It is a “step towards the breakdown of the rule of law and further flagrant violations of human rights” in Myanmar, the EU-27 said.
Washington on Monday denounced the “unjust” sentencing of former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi as an “affront to democracy and justice in Burma. We urge the regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those who have been unjustly detained, including other democratically elected officials,” U.S. Foreign Secretary John Blinken said in a statement.
The chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee issued a statement Monday noting that “Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial appears to have little credibility” and “is part of a crackdown on the country’s opposition,” and expressed concern that her prolonged imprisonment could be physically damaging to her.
Ms. Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, denounced Aung San Suu Kyi’s conviction as “a rigged trial conducted in a secret process in a military-controlled courtroom, which was entirely politically motivated.
Burma’s state television announced late today a directive from Burma’s military chief to halve Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s four-year prison sentence to two years.
Former Burmese President Win Myint, who was also sentenced to four years for violating health regulations for the coronavirus (a Chinese communist virus), also had his sentence reduced by two years by the military chiefs.
Recent Comments