Myanmar: Junta files eleventh corruption charge against Suu Kyi

Nobel laureate has been detained since the February 1 coup last year.

By AFP

Published: Thu 3 Feb 2022, 8:57 PM

Myanmar’s junta has filed an eleventh corruption charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, it said on Thursday, the latest in a slew of indictments against the Nobel laureate who faces more than 150 years in prison.

Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the February 1 coup last year that triggered mass protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent with more than 1,500 civilians killed, according to a local monitoring group.

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She has already been sentenced to six years in jail for incitement against the military, breaching Covid-19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law — although she will remain under house arrest while she fights other charges.

Police filed a further corruption charge against Suu Kyi for allegedly receiving $550,000 as a donation for a charity foundation named after her mother, the junta’s information team said in a statement.

Each corruption charge carries a possible 15-year jail term.

The junta statement gave no details on when court proceedings would begin.

Suu Kyi is already on trial for breaching the official secrets act — where she is accused alongside detained Australian academic Sean Turnell — as well as several other corruption-related charges.

This week the junta announced she will face a further trial beginning mid-February on charges of influencing the country’s election commission during 2020 polls that saw her party defeat a military-aligned rival.