Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - A military spokesman said that deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from an unknown location to...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - A military spokesman said that deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from an unknown location to a prison in the capital. She had been held at an unknown location since she and her government were overthrown in a coup last year.
The Nobel laureate, who turned 77 on Sunday, was sent to jail in Naypyitaw on Wednesday after a court ruled against her, a military spokesman named Zaw Min Tun said.
He said in a statement, "She was sent to prison according to the law, and she is being kept in solitary confinement."
Since she was overthrown by the military in February 2021, Suu Kyi has been charged with about 20 crimes, including multiple counts of corruption, that could put her in jail for nearly 190 years. She denies all charges.
Sources told the BBC's Burmese service that Suu Kyi was being held in a separate building inside the Naypyitaw prison.
A person who knows about Suu Kyi's cases told Reuters on Wednesday that all of her court cases would be moved to a courtroom in the jail.
Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Junta, had previously let Suu Kyi stay in detention at an unknown location, even though she had been convicted of inciting violence and other minor crimes.
Reuters tried to talk to Suu Kyi and her representatives, but they could not be reached. Lawyers who work for her can't talk about her cases. When asked for more information, a junta spokesperson did not answer.
Suu Kyi, who is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, was first put under house arrest in 1989, after huge protests against decades of military rule. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her work to bring about democracy, but she didn't get out of house arrest until 2010.
In 2015, she won all of the elections that were held as part of a plan to reform the military. However, the coup that happened last year stopped those plans.
The charges against Suu Kyi and her convictions have been called a sham by the West, and they have asked for her to be set free. The military says that a fair trial is being held for her by a separate court.
IN-PRISON TRIAL
Myanmar Witness, a non-government group that keeps track of human rights, released satellite images of what it said were recently built buildings next to Naypyitaw's main prison.
The Mizzima news site also showed a picture of a one-story building in the jail that it said was being used for Suu Kyi.
Reuters could not independently confirm if any of the buildings were being used for the trial or to house Suu Kyi or other detained members of her National League for Democracy party.
Media reports said that Australian economist Sean Turnell, who used to work for Suu Kyi and has been charged with breaking a law about state secrets, has also been moved to the Naypyitaw jail. Turnell used to advise Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi is also being charged with breaking the law about keeping secrets.
In a statement released on June 10, Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, said that Australia did not agree with the court's decision to bring charges against Turnell.
Radio Free Asia, which is funded by the United States, quoted sources who said that the trial of Suu Kyi and Turnell began on Thursday in the jail.
RFA said that since Suu Kyi was moved there, the prison fences were made stronger and security was tightened.
BBC Burmese said that Suu Kyi was not allowed to bring the housekeepers who had been with her while she was in jail. She also decided not to bring her dog, Taekido.
Suu Kyi's court cases have been held behind closed doors, and state media have only given out a small amount of information.
It's not clear how much Suu Kyi knows about the chaos in her country, which has been in a bad state since the coup. The military is trying to keep control, but insurgents are getting stronger and fighting back.
