Myanmar military officials have moved ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi from an undisclosed location to a prison in the capital, where he and his government were held after being ousted from a prison. last year’s coupa military spokesman said.
Military spokesman Jae Min Tun said the Nobel laureate, who turned 77 on Sunday, was transferred to a prison in Naipitaw on Wednesday, following a court ruling against him.
“He has been transferred to the jail in accordance with the law and is being kept in solitary confinement,” he said in a statement.
Suu Kyi has been charged with nearly 20 criminal offenses with a combined maximum prison term of about 190 years, including several counts of corruption, since her sacking by the military in February 2021. She denies all the allegations.
The BBC’s Burmese-language service quoted sources as saying that Suu Kyi was being kept in a separate building inside the prison in Naipitaw.
A source familiar with her affairs told Reuters on Wednesday that all legal proceedings against Suu Kyi would be moved to a courtroom in the prison.
Junta leader Min Aung Huling previously allowed Suu Kyi to remain in custody at an undisclosed location, despite having been convicted of abetment and a number of petty offences.
Reuters could not contact Suu Kyi or her representatives for comment. His lawyers have been barred from speaking about his cases. A spokesman for Junta did not respond to requests for additional comment.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, was first placed under house arrest in 1989 after heavy protests against decades of military rule. In 1991, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for campaigning for democracy, but in 2010 he was put under complete house arrest.
He won the 2015 election, which was conducted as part of temporary military reforms halted by last year’s coup.
Western countries have called the charges against Suu Kyi and her sentence a sham and demanded her release. The army says that due process is being given to them by an independent judiciary.
trial in prison
Myanmar Witness, a non-governmental group that documents human rights, recently released satellite imagery of buildings constructed next to the main prison complex in Naipitaw.
The Mizzima news portal also showed a photo of a one-story building in the prison, which it said was being used in relation to Suu Kyi.
Reuters could not independently confirm whether any of the buildings were being used for trials or to house Suu Kyi or other detained members of her National League for Democracy party.
Media reports said Australian economist Sean Turnell, previously an adviser to Suu Kyi, who was accused of violating state secret law, was also transferred to Napito Prison. Suu Kyi is also accused of violating the Secret Law.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on 10 June that Canberra had rejected the court’s decision to prosecute Ternell.
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US-funded Radio Free Asia quoted sources as saying that the prison trial against Suu Kyi and Turnell began on Thursday.
The RFA said authorities had tightened the siege of the prison and tightened security since Suu Kyi was taken there.
As BBC Burmese reports, Suu Kyi was not allowed to bring home staff who had accompanied her during her custody and decided not to bring her dog.
Suu Kyi’s court proceedings have taken place behind closed doors and only limited information has been given by state media.
It is unclear how much Suu Kyi knows about the crisis in her country, which has been in chaos since the coup, with the military struggling to consolidate power and growing opposition from rebels.