Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 6 years in prison in corruption charges

Since the military ousted her administration in February of last year, Suu Kyi has already received a sentence of 17 years in prison.

Digital Desk: Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader of Myanmar, was sentenced another six years in prison on Monday by a junta court.

According to the Myanmar Now website, the jailed leader was found guilty on four counts of corruption by a court in Naypyitaw.

The 77-year-old Suu Kyi was charged with "abusing her position as party leader to benefit a private foundation named after her mother, Daw Khin Kyi, as well as a related project."

The Daw Khin Kyi Foundation allegedly leased land for its headquarters in Yangon's Bahan Township at below-market rates thanks to Suu Kyi's influence, costing the nation 5.2 billion kyats ($3.16 million) in revenue, according to the military administration.

Since the military ousted her administration in February of last year, Suu Kyi has already received a sentence of 17 years in prison.

Six further counts against her led to her convictions in December, January, and April.

The military government transferred her to a prison in June and put her in solitary confinement.

Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest following her overthrow in a military coup in February of last year and remained there until April of this year, when she was transferred to a location that is still unknown but is thought to be the capital city of Myanmar's Naypyitaw Prison.

She is defending herself against more than a dozen accusations, including corruption, for which she was given a five-year prison term in April.

In the past, Suu Kyi endured almost 15 years in house arrest under various junta governments in the country with a majority of Buddhists.

Suu Kyi has been imprisoned twice since 2009, the most recent instance being this one. She had been sent to Yangon's Insein Prison earlier that year for four months due to "violating the restrictions of her home arrest," according to the then-junta authorities.

Suu Kyi's government was overthrown in a military coup last year after winning the national elections in November 2020.

Massive public unrest followed the coup as people opposed the reinstatement of the military government and the removal of Aung San Suu Kyi. The UN frequently issued warnings that the country has entered a civil war as the junta forcefully put down protesters.

According to a regional monitoring organisation called the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the junta troops have since killed more than 1,500 individuals in a crackdown on dissent.