Deposed president and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi get four years in prison; sentences halved by junta chief

By DMG 06 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
6 December 2021, Yangon 

Former President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were each sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at a hearing on December 6 by a special junta court in the capital Naypyidaw, before having those sentences halved by junta supremo Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, according to state media. 

The court in Zabuthiri Township ordered two years each for the cases charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision, and an additional two years for the two deposed leaders under Section 50 of the Natural Disaster Management Law. The charges, which have been widely criticised as politically motivated, were filed in February, not long after the military seized power in a coup on February 1. 

U Myo Aung, the ousted chairperson of the Naypyidaw Council, who was also charged under Section 505(b), was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, according to sources close to the court in Naypyidaw. 

A source close to the lawyers for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told DMG that an appeal will be filed. 

All three defendants were charged under Section 505(b) in relation to National League for Democracy (NLD) statements critical of the coup, which were made by the party after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint were detained by the military. 

The verdicts in the cases of the former state counsellor and president were expected on November 30, but the rulings were deferred until Monday. 

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint face additional charges, including corruption charges that were filed as recently as November 30. The state counsellor has been hit with a total of 11 charges, with the cumulative maximum sentences adding up to more than 100 years in prison.