Myanmar court hands Aung San Suu Kyi 4-year prison sentence in 1st of several looming verdicts

Myanmar protest for Aung San Suu Kyi
(Image credit: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

A court in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's capital, sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison on Monday, the first verdict in a growing number of charges the ruling military junta has filed against the beloved 76-year-old leader they deposed in a February coup. Monday's sentence was for inciting public unrest and breaking COVID-19 rules, and the verdicts were disclosed to The Associated Press, Reuters, and other news organizations by legal officials.

The junta has restricted information of the trial, and Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since her arrest. "The military has steadily piled on a dozen criminal charges against her," The Washington Post reports, and "she cumulatively faces more than a century in jail." All of the charges "are widely seen as contrived to discredit her and keep her from running in the next election," AP adds. "The constitution bars anyone sent to prison after being convicted of a crime from holding high office or becoming a lawmaker."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.