Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial postponed to April 1, as 600 detainees freed
- Suu Kyi is accused of bribery, illegally importing handheld radios and breaching Covid-19 rules
- The development came as Myanmar activists planned a silent strike on Wednesday, a day after security forces shot dead a child during a crackdown
Suu Kyi, who was arrested the same day the military seized power in Myanmar on February 1, faces charges that include illegally importing six handheld radios and breaching coronavirus protocols. The military has also accused her of bribery in two recent televised news conferences.
In commercial hub Yangon, Associated Press photographer Thein Zaw, 32 – who was arrested last month while covering a protest – was freed from Insein prison, hours after more than 600 people held for protesting against the coup were freed from the same jail. He had been charged with “spreading false news”, along with five other journalists who were arrested the same day.
Myanmar junta blames protesters for violence that has left scores dead
The development came as Myanmar activists on Wednesday planned more anti-coup demonstrations including a silent strike with many businesses due to close and calls for people to stay home, a day after a seven-year-old girl was killed in her home when security forces opened fire during a crackdown in Mandalay.
Protesters held candlelight vigils overnight after staff at a funeral service in Mandalay said on Tuesday that a seven-year-old girl had died of bullet wounds in the city – the youngest victim so far in a bloody crackdown of opposition to the February 1 coup.
Soldiers shot at her father but hit the girl who was sitting on his lap inside their home, her sister told the Myanmar Now media outlet. Two men were also killed in the district, it said.
The military had no immediate comment on the incident.