Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been condemned to four extra years in prison.
She may face a sentence of more than 100 years in jail if proven guilty of all charges.
![800 (54)](/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/800-54-780x470.jpeg)
According to a legal official, a Myanmar court sentenced former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four more years in prison on Monday after finding her guilty of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies as well as violating coronavirus regulations.
Suu Kyi was convicted on two more charges last month and sentenced to four years in prison, which was later lowered by the military-installed government’s leader.
The cases are among more than a dozen filed against the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate since the army overthrew her elected government and arrested top members of her National League for Democracy party last February.
She may face a sentence of more than 100 years in jail if proven guilty of all charges.
Suu Kyi’s supporters and independent analysts claim the charges against her are made up to justify the military’s takeover of power and keep her out of politics.
The judgement was delivered by a legal official in the capital, Naypyitaw, who requested anonymity for fear of being penalized by the authorities, who have restricted the distribution of information regarding Suu Kyi’s trials.
He claimed she was sentenced to two years in prison for importing the walkie-talkies and one year in prison for holding them under the Export-Import Law. The sentences will be served at the same time. She also received a two-year term for allegedly breaking coronavirus laws while campaigning under the Natural Disaster Management Law.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison last month after being found guilty of inciting and violating COVID-19 rules. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military-installed administration, reduced the sentence by half just hours after it was imposed.
Suu Kyi’s party won a huge victory in a national election in 2020, but the military claimed significant electoral fraud, which independent pollsters dispute.
Suu Kyi has been attending court hearings in prison clothing since her first guilty conviction – a white top and a brown longyi skirt given by the authorities. She is being kept by the military at an undisclosed location, according to state television, where she will complete her term.
The media and spectators are not allowed to attend the sessions, and the prosecutors do not speak. In October, her lawyers, who had been a source of information on the case, were served with gag orders.
Despite international calls for discussions with Suu Kyi to end the country’s horrific political crisis, the military-installed government has refused to meet with any outside party since taking control.
A special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, would not be allowed to meet with her. Min Aung Hlaing’s denial drew a rare censure from fellow members, who prohibited him from attending the annual summit conference.
Even Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who took over as the regional group’s leader for this year and encourages contact with the ruling generals, failed to see her last week when he visited Myanmar for the first time since the army took control.
According to a detailed list published by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the military’s seizure of power was swiftly met by nonviolent nationwide demonstrations, which security forces repressed with deadly force, killing nearly 1,400 civilians.
Peaceful protests have continued, but armed opposition has developed in response to the harsh crackdown, to the point where UN experts have warned that the country is on the verge of civil war.
“Filing a slew of criminal accusations against Aung San Suu Kyi… seems more like desperation than confidence,” said Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, a democracy advocacy group.
After her first convictions, he stated in an email interview that the military “massively miscalculated” in expecting that arresting Suu Kyi, her fellow party members, and veteran independent political activists would deter protests.
“A new mass movement has emerged that is not led by a single figure. Hundreds of small organizations are organizing and opposing in various ways, including peaceful protests, boycotts, and armed resistance, according to Farmaner. “The military has been unable to crush dissent despite arresting more than 7,000 people since the coup, three times the average number held under the previous military regime.”
Suu Kyi was charged with fraudulently importing walkie-talkies shortly after the military took power, which served as the original pretext for her ongoing confinement. The next month, a second charge of illegally possessing the radios was filed.
During a search on Feb. 1, the day she was arrested, the radios were taken from her front gate and the barracks of her bodyguards.
The radios were not in Suu Kyi’s personal ownership and were properly used to help provide for her protection, but the allegations were not dismissed by the court.
During her campaign for the 2020 election, she was charged with two charges of breaking coronavirus limitations. Last month, she was convicted guilty on the first count.
She is also facing five counts of corruption in the same court. Each count carries a potential punishment of 15 years in jail and a fine. A sixth corruption case against her and ousted President Win Myint stemming from the issuing of permits to rent and acquire helicopters has yet to be tried.
She is also charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.
Myanmar’s electoral commission brought new allegations against Suu Kyi and 15 other legislators in November, alleging fraud in the 2020 election.
Suu Kyi’s party might be dissolved as a result of the allegations brought by the military-appointed Union Election Commission, which has vowed that a fresh election will be held within two years of the military’s takeover.