Myanmar junta charges Suu Kyi with fraud during 2020 polls
Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the joint news conference of the Japan-Mekong Summit Meeting at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan October 9, 2018. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
‘Deep concern’
“The junta is using spurious claims of electoral fraud as a key justification for its coup,” International Crisis Group’s Myanmar senior advisor Richard Horsey told AFP. “Having failed after much effort to identify more than a handful of people who voted twice, it is now going after NLD leaders,” he said. “But Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD had overwhelming support from voters, so guilty verdicts will convince no one.” The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD and last month jailed Win Htein, a close Suu Kyi aide and high-ranking leader, to 20 years on treason charges. Suu Kyi is already on trial for flouting coronavirus restrictions while campaigning ahead of the election. Journalists have been barred from attending proceedings at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, and the junta recently muzzled her legal team from speaking to the media. Suu Kyi appeared for the latest hearing in her trial for allegedly importing and possessing illegal walkie talkies on Monday, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP. A verdict for her trial on breaching Covid-19 regulations is expected in December. She faces three years in jail if found guilty. Last week, the UN Security Council expressed its “deep concern” about the unrest in Myanmar and called for an “immediate cessation of violence” and for efforts to ensure that civilians are not harmed. More than 10,000 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.
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