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Agence France-Presse

A Myanmar junta court jailed ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in jail on Friday for electoral fraud in the 2020 polls, which her party won in a landslide.
The latest sentence handed down by the closed court takes the total jail time the Nobel laureate and democracy figurehead is facing to two decades.
She was “sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour”, a source with knowledge of the case said, adding that Suu Kyi, 77, appeared to be in good health.
Detained since a putsch last year, Suu Kyi had already been convicted of corruption and a clutch of other charges by a closed junta court and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Journalists have been barred from proceedings in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and her lawyers have been prevented from speaking to the press.
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A junta spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
The military alleged widespread voter fraud during the November 2020 election, won resoundingly by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), 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.
Last month, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said the military was being “lenient” on Suu Kyi and could have taken “more serious actions” against her.
Myanmar was plunged into crisis following the military’s power grab last year, with swathes of the country ravaged by fighting and the economy in free fall.
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.


“These closed door hearings make it difficult to see how any of the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi can be credible,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The ever mounting convictions … show just how depraved the Myanmar junta is.”
“I can’t see them sending to Suu Kyi to a labour camp,” said independent Myanmar analyst David Mathieson.
But he added: “No act of violence or torture is off limits, and Suu Kyi is the nemesis they [the military] want to humiliate and eradicate, for good.”
The junta declared a state of emergency after ousting Suu Kyi’s government, and has previously said elections would be held and the state of emergency lifted by August 2023.
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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”.
He also said “reform” to the electoral system was needed, including combining the first-past-the-post system – under which Suu Kyi’s NLD has won sweeping majorities – with proportional representation.
Last month, the junta-stacked Union Election Commission said the country’s 92 registered political parties would have to ask for permission if they wished to meet foreign organisations or individuals.
“Political parties need to respect the law,” the commission said.
“If they fail to do so their party’s registration will be dissolved.”


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Myanmar

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi gets 3 more years in jail, ‘hard labour’ for election fraud

A protester holds a poster featuring Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 protest in Yangon, Myanmar. File photo: AFP

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) and  Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing during their meeting in Naypyidaw earlier this month. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP

Buildings hit by a Russian missile strike in a resort area in Odesa region on Wednesday, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues. Photo: Handout via Reuters 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) and Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin during a meeting in Naypyidaw earlier this month. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 6 more years in prison in closed trial

Protesters against Myanmar’s military junta walk through a Yangon market with posters of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. File photo: AP

Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. File photo: AP

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The 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been on trial accused of at least 20 crimes since a coup against her elected government last year. Photo: AFP

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A protester holds up a poster featuring Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration in Yangon in 2021. File photo: AFP

Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016. File photo: AFP

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Democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu and former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw. Photo: Myanmar’s Military Information Team / AFP

A protester holds a poster featuring detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon. File photo: AFP 

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Myanmar junta court adds more jail time to the 17 years Aung San Suu Kyi is already serving for other offences
The military seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, after alleging widespread voter fraud


A Myanmar junta court sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in jail for electoral fraud. The ruling adds more jail time to the 17 years she is already serving for other offences.


Aung San Suu Kyi

Human rights

Myanmar's democratic transition

Min Aung Hlaing