A Myanmar court has convicted ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on more corruption charges. The court has given the decision to increase the sentence of her imprisonment by six years. Earlier in April 2022, the court had sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in the first corruption case. Myanmar’s military government is conducting closed-door hearings of the cases against Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s law officer said Suu Kyi had been found guilty of corruption. This is the first of 11 corruption charges against Nobel laureate Suu in which a pro-democracy leader has been sentenced. These cases carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in each.
Earlier in January 2022, Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating Corona restrictions. Suu Kyi was accused of having a walkie-talkie when soldiers raided Suu Kyi’s residence on February 1, 2021, the day of the military coup, according to AFP news agency. The allegedly banned device was recovered during that time. Immediately after the ouster of Suu Kyi’s government by junta troops, Myanmar witnessed widespread protests against military rule, prompting the military to launch a bloody crackdown. So far 1500 people have died in this violence. Suu Kyi faces nearly a dozen cases, which carry a maximum prison sentence of more than 100 years. Suu Kyi has been kept at an undisclosed location by the military government.
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On 1 February 2021, Myanmar’s army took power by overthrowing the elected government. After this, many big leaders including pro-democracy Aung San Suu Kyi were imprisoned. Since then, army has received continuous military and other types of help from China. Recently, China has increased help for Myanmar’s military rule. Experts say that with this stance, China has become the biggest obstacle in efforts to isolate Myanmar’s military rulers internationally.
Aung San Suu Kyi is the former Prime Minister of Myanmar (Burma), a prominent opposition leader and leader of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy. She is the daughter of Aung San, the father of the nation of Burma. Aung San was politically assassinated in 1947. Suu Kyi fought a long struggle for the establishment of democracy in Burma. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She has spent decades in jail for her pro-democracy movement.