3 yıl önce

Myanmar military charges Suu Kyi with fraud over 2020 elections

The announcement comes weeks after the military junta sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison for treason.

Reuters Archive

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February 1 coup, with nationwide protests and more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

Myanmar's junta has charged ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi with electoral fraud during 2020 polls that her party won in a landslide.

Suu Kyi was accused of "election fraud and lawless actions", state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday, without giving details on when court proceedings would begin.

Fifteen other officials, including former president Win Myint and the chairman of the election commission, faced the same charge, the report added.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup in February sparked nationwide protests and a deadly crackdown on dissent.

Detained since the putsch, Suu Kyi, 76, faces a raft of charges including illegally importing walkie talkies, sedition and corruption, and faces decades in jail if convicted.

She is already on trial for flouting coronavirus restrictions while campaigning ahead of the election, in which her National League for Democracy party (NLD) trounced a military-aligned party.

Military crackdown

International observers said the 2020 polls were largely free and fair.

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.

More than 1,250 people have been killed by Myanmar junta security forces since the coup and over 10,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies