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

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    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. 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.