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

• Image Credit: Mint

• Aug 15, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

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

color:black">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.