The trial was held behind closed doors, with no media or public access, and her lawyers were barred by a gag order from disclosing information about the proceedings. In the four corruption cases decided on Monday, Aung San Suu Kyi is alleged to have abused her position to rent public land at below-market rates and to have built a residence with donations intended for charity. She received three-year sentences for each of the four charges, but the sentences for three of them will run concurrently, giving her a total of six more years in prison. She has denied all charges and her lawyers are expected to appeal. She had already been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sedition, corruption and other charges in previous trials after the military overthrew her elected government and took her into custody in February 2021. Analysts say the numerous charges against her and her allies are an attempt to legitimize the military’s seizure of power while eliminating her from politics before the military holds promised elections next year. Aung San Suu Kyi and her co-defendants have denied all the allegations and their lawyers are expected to file an appeal in the coming days, said the legal official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release information and feared retribution from authorities. Other top members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and her government have also been arrested and jailed, and authorities have proposed disbanding the party before the next election. The military seized power and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, the day her party would have started a second five-year term in power after winning a landslide victory in general elections in November 2020. The military said it acted because there was massive election fraud, but independent election observers found no significant irregularities. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The military takeover sparked peaceful protests across the country, which security forces cracked down on with deadly force, sparking an armed resistance that some UN experts are now describing as a civil war. The military government has been accused of human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests and killings, torture and military sweeps that include airstrikes on civilians and the burning of entire villages. Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, has been the face of opposition to military rule in Myanmar for more than three decades. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest. Her five years as leader of the civilian government were marked by repression and military rule, even though it was Myanmar’s most democratic period since a 1962 coup. Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with a total of 11 counts under the country’s anti-corruption act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine. During Monday’s verdicts, the legal official said Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in prison for building a residence for herself in Naypyidaw, allegedly with a donation for a charity she chaired, named of her mother. She received a three-year sentence for allegedly taking advantage of her position to rent property in Yangon, the country’s largest city, for the same foundation, the official said. The two other cases decided on Monday involved plots of land in Naypyidaw that she allegedly abused her power to rent at below-market rates for the foundation. He received a three-year sentence for each of those cases. The three cases involving offenses in Naypyidaw must be served at the same time. The former mayor of Naypyidaw, Myo Aung, was a co-defendant in both cases regarding the granting of permits to rent the land. Ye Min Oo, the former deputy mayor, is a co-accused in one case and Min Thu, a former member of the Naypyidaw Development Committee, in the other. Each was sentenced to terms of three years. The government’s anti-corruption commission, which filed the case, had alleged that rental fees agreed by the Naypyidaw development committee were lower than the rate set by the Ministry of Planning and Finance, so the lease agreement deprived the state of income. should have received.
