Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi moves from prison to house arrest

Myanmar’s military junta says imprisoned former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to the effects of a heat wave. The government also pardoned more than 3,000 prisoners on Wednesday to mark this week’s traditional New Year’s holiday.

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw said Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, 72, the ousted former president of the government, were both elderly and frail prisoners transferred from prison due to the intense heat. Min Tun told foreign media representatives late Tuesday. Myanmar has not publicly announced the move.

Suu Kyi’s transfer comes as the military has suffered a series of major defeats in its battle against pro-democracy resistance fighters and their ethnic guerrilla allies. Nationwide conflict began in February 2021 after the military overthrew the democratically elected government, jailed Aung San Suu Kyi and began cracking down on non-violent protests seeking a return to democratic rule.

Myanmar’s meteorological department said temperatures reached 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon, as Suu Kyi serves a 27-year sentence for multiple criminal convictions in a purpose-built wing of the capital’s main prison in Naypyitaw. Win Myint is serving an eight-year sentence in Taungoo, Myanmar’s Bago region.

Supporters of Suu Kyi and independent analysts say the charges are fabricated to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power. The military claims her party, the National Democratic Party, used widespread electoral fraud to win a landslide victory in the 2020 election, but independent observers have found the accusation unconvincing.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group that monitors casualties and arrests, more than 20,351 people arrested on political charges since the military takeover in 2021 remain in detention, most of whom have not yet been convicted.

Suu Kyi’s health has reportedly deteriorated in prison. Last September, it was reported that she was suffering from symptoms of low blood pressure, including dizziness and loss of appetite, but was denied treatment at a qualified facility outside the prison system.

The reports could not be independently confirmed, but her youngest son, Kim Aris, said in an interview that he had heard his mother was very ill and had ongoing gum problems that prevented her from eating. Aris, who lives in the UK, urged Myanmar’s military junta to pressure the release of his mother and other political prisoners.

News about Aung San Suu Kyi is tightly controlled by the junta, and even her lawyers are prohibited from speaking to the media about her case by a gag order. Her legal team has faced several obstacles, including being unable to meet with her to receive her instructions since they last saw her in December 2022.

It has not been announced whether the latest move is temporary.

Suu Kyi was reportedly held in a military safe house on a military base before being sent to prison.

State-run MRTV announced on Wednesday that other prisoners had been released during the Poyan New Year holiday, but it was unclear whether the release included pro-democracy activists and political prisoners detained for protesting against military rule.

MRTV said General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the ruling Military Council, had pardoned 3,303 prisoners, including 28 foreigners who were to be deported from Myanmar. He also commuted the sentences of others. Mass amnesties during festivals are not uncommon in Myanmar.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero General Aung San, was a political prisoner under house arrest by the previous military government for nearly 15 years from 1989 to 2010. Her strong stance against military rule made her a symbol of the non-violent struggle for democracy and earned her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.