A Myanmar junta court sentenced ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to seven years in prison for corruption on Friday, a legal source told AFP, ending the 18-month trial of the Nobel laureate.
Aung San Suu Kyi was jailed on five counts of corruption related to the hiring and maintaining of a helicopter that had caused a "loss to the state", the source said.
A prisoner of the military since the 2021 coup, Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, has been convicted on every charge levelled against her, ranging from corruption to illegally possessing walkie-talkies and flouting Covid restrictions.
"All her cases were finished and there are no more charges against her," said the source, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Suu Kyi appeared in good health, the source added.
- Jailed for life -
This last case and conviction effectively imprisons Aung San Suu Kyi for life, with a total of 33 years of incarceration.
Journalists have been barred from attending the court hearings and Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers have been banned from speaking to the media.
Since her trial began, she has been seen only once -- in grainy state media photos from a bare courtroom -- and has been reliant on lawyers to relay messages to the world.
Last week, in the United Nations Security Council's first resolution on the situation in Myanmar since the coup, it called on the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi.
It was a moment of relative unity by the council after permanent members and close junta allies China and Russia abstained, opting not to wield vetoes following amendments to the wording.
- Turmoil –
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently imprisoned in a compound in the capital Naypyidaw, close to the courthouse where her trial was held, and has been deprived of her household staff and pet dog Taichido.
Since the coup, she has largely disappeared from public view, seen only in grainy state media photos from the bare courtroom.
The country has been plunged into turmoil, with some established ethnic rebel groups renewing fighting with the military in border areas, and the economy in tatters.
"People's Defence Forces" eschewing Aung San Suu Kyi's strict policy of non-violence have also sprung up to battle the junta and have surprised the military with their effectiveness, observers say.
Analysts say the junta may allow Aung San Suu Kyi to serve some of her sentence under house arrest while it prepares for elections it has said will take place next year.
The military alleged there was widespread voter fraud during 2020 polls won resoundingly by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, although international observers said the elections were largely free and fair.
AFP/Mizzima
