A Myanmar court has made a controversial decision to convict ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in prison for alleged corruption based on the testimony of the former chief minister of Yangon.
The decision, which was made on Wednesday, was based on accusations that Aung San accepted roughly $1.3 million worth of gold bars and cash from her close political ally. The official publicly confessed that he delivered $600,000 in cash and about 25 pounds of gold to the ousted civilian leader in shopping bags.
Myanmar's Controversial Guilty Verdict
The defendant, whose trial was kept from the public and news media outlets, called the charges against her "absurd." The Myanmar court has forbidden her lawyers from speaking about the case in public. Her situation has caused concern among Southeast Asian nations and is expected to become a major point of discussion during U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with regional leaders in Washington next month, as per the New York Times.
The defendant's supporters who were familiar with the legal proceedings said that the prosecution presented no evidence, aside from witness testimony, against her proving that she received the money and gold bars. Aung San, who was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the military staged a coup, was charged with 17 criminal counts that her defenders argue are fabricated.
Aung San was previously convicted on five lesser charges and sentenced to six years in prison and if she is found guilty on all the remaining counts, she faces up to 163 years of imprisonment. The deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, said that the conviction on "bogus corruption charges" shows the deep determination of the regime to silence the defendant.
He said that the days of Aung San being a free woman are "effectively over" and noted that the destruction of popular democracy in Myanmar meant getting rid of the civilian leader. The defendant became a public figure in 1988 during a failed uprising against a previous military government where she helped found the National League for Democracy party, the Associated Press reported.
Civilian Leader Aung San Suu Kyi
The country's military staged the coup because of alleged massive electoral fraud despite independent election observers saying there were no major irregularities. Mass protests began in the nation after the January 2021 coup which was mostly met with violent actions from the military.
The international community has condemned the operations of the Myanmar military in trying to control the people. Many protesters also face potential jail terms despite the majority of them staging only minor demonstrations. Some have also said that plainclothes police officers have begun following them around.
Others said that they were forced to go into hiding in fear of their safety while many said their family members have been threatened or arrested. The military junta made sure to prevent residents outside the mainland from returning to their homeland.
According to FairPlanet, the military terminated the citizenship of 33 high-profile dissidents in March, including Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations who expressed his support of Aung San.
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