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Myanmar junta court sentenced Suu Kyi three years for electoral fraud

The Nobel laureate and figurehead of Myanmar's opposition to decades of military rule has been detained since a coup early last year and has already been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. She denies all the allegations against her.

Reuters & AFP WORLD
Published September 02,2022
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A Myanmar junta court sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in jail for electoral fraud during 2020 polls her party won in a landslide, a source with knowledge of the case said Friday.

Suu Kyi was "sentenced to three years imprisonment with hard labour", the source said, adding that the Nobel laureate, 77, appeared to be in good health.

Detained since the putsch last year, Suu Kyi has already been convicted of corruption and a clutch of other charges by a closed junta court and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The military alleged widespread voter fraud during the November 2020 election, won resoundingly by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, although international observers said the poll was largely free and fair.

The military has since cancelled the result and said it uncovered more than 11 million instances of voter fraud.

In a speech broadcast last month, Min Aung Hlaing did not mention a date for fresh polls but said they could only be held when the country was "peaceful and stable".

Suu Kyi, 76, has been on trial for more than a year on multiple charges, ranging from corruption and incitement to leaks of official secrets, for which the combined maximum sentences is more than 190 years.

Her trials have been held behind closed doors in the capital, Naypyitaw, and the junta's statements on the proceedings have been limited. A gag order has been imposed on Suu Kyi's lawyers.

More than 2,200 people have been killed and over 15,000 arrested in the military's crackdown on dissent since it seized power, according to a local monitoring group.