Verdict next month in trial of Daw Aung San Su Kyi

Verdict next month in trial of Daw Aung San Su Kyi
Published 9 November 2021
Straits Times / ANN

YANGON (AFP) - A Myanmar military court will give its verdict next month on whether ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi broke coronavirus rules during elections her party won last year, a source said Tuesday (Nov 9).

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military's February takeover, which sparked huge protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent.

Ms Suu Kyi, 76, went on trial in June and faces a raft of charges from illegally importing walkie talkies to sedition.

Media have been barred from attending proceedings at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, and the ruling military recently banned her legal team from speaking to reporters.

On Tuesday, Ms Suu Kyi appeared at the latest hearing in the trial for allegedly flouting coronavirus rules during the 2020 elections, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

She would testify in her defence next week, the source said, adding a "final order pronouncing the verdict of the court" was set for Dec 14.

Ms Suu Kyi faces three years in jail if found guilty.

The military court will also hear closing arguments in a separate trial for incitement next week, as it begins to wrap up proceedings that could see the Nobel laureate jailed for decades.

The military have alleged that the 2020 elections, which Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won by a landslide - trouncing a military-backed party - were beset with fraud.

Last month, Mr Win Htein, a former NLD parliamentarian and close aide of Ms Suu Kyi, was handed 20 years in jail for treason, the first high-ranking member of the party to be jailed by a military court