Myanmar’s ousted democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi made her first public appearance since the military deposed her government and seized power on 1 February 2021, at a court hearing on Monday.
Suu Kyi, along with 4,000 others, was arrested following the military which took place after her party the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the November 2020 elections. Myanmar’s military government leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing justified the coup by accusing the NLD of committing election fraud despite scant evidence. Last week, Myanmar’s media reported that the junta-appointed Union Election Commission had decided to dissolve the NLD.
Suu Kyi has been charged with a range of offences, from violation of COVID-19 restrictions, illegally possessing walkie-talkie radios, to violating a state secrets law, which could preclude her from holding power again and lead to her imprisonment of around 14 years if found guilty. Suu Kyi had risen to political prominence as a political prisoner under the military's rule.
Read more here.
