The latest sentence handed to Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is an "affront to justice and rule of law", the United States said Monday after the ousted leader was convicted of corruption and jailed for six years.

The ousted civilian leader now faces 17 years in jail following the latest conviction.

"The Burma military regime's unjust arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi is an affront to justice and the rule of law," a State Department spokesperson said.

The US government has called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other former National League for Democracy (NLD) politicians who were arrested in the wake of the 1 February 2021 military coup.

Washington has called for a return to democracy in Myanmar and an end to attacks on civilians and the end to incarceration of people on political grounds. The US government voiced its horror at the execution last month of four pro-democracy activists, including former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw of the NLD.

Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday condemned a Myanmar court's "unjust" sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi to six years for corruption, calling for her immediate release.

"I condemn the unjust sentence of Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional six years of detention," Borrell wrote on Twitter, calling on the Myanmar regime to "immediately and unconditionally release her".

He also urged the Asian nation's military junta to release "all political prisoners, and respect the will of the people".

AFP, Mizzima