The military in power in Burma on Thursday sentenced two close associates of the dismissed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to two years in prison for sedition, AFP learned from a source familiar with the matter. This sentence, handed down by a special court inside Insein prison in Rangoon, is the latest blow struck by the junta in its legal campaign against the National League for Democracy (LND), Aung San’s party. Suu Kyi. The country has been in chaos since February 1, when the generals took power in a coup, accusing the NLD of massive fraud in general elections won handily in November 2020. The protests in across the country against the coup have been bloodily suppressed, with more than 1,300 people killed and 11,000 arrested, according to a local watch group.
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Two members of the NLD central committee, Thein Oo and Han Thar Myint, also economic advisor to Aung San Suu Kyi, were each sentenced to 2 years of detention on Thursday, said a legal source familiar with the matter. Other close collaborators of the former Nobel Prize winner have already been heavily condemned by the junta, including MP U Win Htein last October for treason. Earlier this month, the former head of the civilian government was herself sentenced to four years in prison for inciting public unrest and violating health rules related to Covid, a verdict strongly condemned by the international community.
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Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing later commuted the sentence to two years in prison, and announced that she would serve her sentence under house arrest in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi is also facing several counts of corruption – each punishable by 15 years in prison – and violation of the Law on Official Secrets. The media are not allowed to attend his trial behind closed doors in a special court in the capital. The junta also banned its legal team from speaking to the press and international organizations.