Imprisoned Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved to house arrest: report

Myanmar’s military junta has moved jailed democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from prison to house arrest, a source told AFP on Wednesday.

The 78-year-old Nobel laureate is serving a 27-year sentence for a series of criminal convictions including corruption and breaching Covid-19 rules.

Suu Kyi has largely hidden from view and has reportedly suffered health problems since the military detained her when they seized power in a 2021 coup.

An unnamed military source said Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint had been moved from prison to house arrest.

The junta also announced on Wednesday that 3,300 prisoners would be released as part of a regular amnesty to mark the country’s New Year holiday.

It was unclear whether Suu Kyi’s move was temporary or represented an official commutation of her sentence.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said a spate of hot weather had prompted authorities to take measures to protect vulnerable detainees.

“Due to the hot weather, not only Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, but also some old prisoners also received necessary care,” Zaw Min Tun told AFP.

health problems

Local media reported that during the months-long trial, Aung San Suu Kyi suffered from dizziness, vomiting, and was sometimes unable to eat due to tooth infection.

Her son Kim Aris told AFP in February that she was still being held in a purpose-built compound in the military capital Naypyitaw.

Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi’s government who was held captive for months, said the compound had no air conditioning in the sweltering heat and the concrete cells leaked during the monsoons. .

Suu Kyi, who rose to prominence during mass demonstrations against the then-junta in 1988, spent about 15 years under house arrest in her colonial-era lakeside mansion in Yangon’s commercial heart.

The junta said Wednesday’s prisoner amnesty included 13 Indonesians and 15 Sri Lankans to be deported.

The remaining prisoners will have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, terrorism and drug charges, the junta said in a statement.

Myanmar’s military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in a lightning coup in February 2021, ending the country’s decade-long experiment with democracy after decades of military rule.

The coup sparked a public outcry that the military attempted to suppress with force, sparking an escalating conflict that left more than 4,800 civilians dead.

The army is currently struggling to maintain control of the country in the face of resistance from civilian anti-junta fighters and historic ethnic armed groups.