One message in three years
Aung Sann Suu Kyi’s family complains about disturbing radio silence
17.06.2024, 00:41
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Following a coup three years ago, the then de facto head of government, Suu Kyi, was imprisoned. Although her sentence was later reduced, her family describes how they have had almost no contact with the 78-year-old for years, who is said to be suffering from health problems.
The family of the deposed head of government of the crisis-ridden state of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had no contact with the Nobel Peace Prize winner since her imprisonment around three years ago. “In three and a half years we have only received one letter from her, last January,” her son Kim Aris told the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”. After that, however, neither he nor his brother ever heard from her again. Not even after Suu Kyi was transferred from a prison in April.
After the coup on February 1, 2021, the military deposed and arrested the democratically elected de facto head of government, Suu Kyi. A junta-controlled court later sentenced her to a total of 33 years in prison for numerous alleged crimes. In 2023, the military junta reduced Suu Kyi’s sentence by six years. In April, she was transferred from prison in the capital Naypyidaw to another location. According to her son, the family has not been informed of her whereabouts.
The two sons of 78-year-old Suu Kyi had heard that their mother was ill and suffering from severe toothache that prevented her from eating. They then sent her a package of medicine. “And in January, unbelievably, we received a letter signed by her,” said Aris. In the letter, Suu Kyi thanked her for the medicine, but wrote that she was still ill. However, according to Aris, the sons received no response to another package of medicine.