Myanmar court sentences ousted leader Suu Kyi to 4 years

A Myanmar court sentenced the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to four years in prison Dec. 6 after finding her guilty of incitement and violating coronavirus restrictions, a legal official said. Hours later, the sentence was reduced to two years in what reports say was an amnesty ordered by military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. The sentencing was the first in a series of cases in which the 76-year-old Nobel laureate is being prosecuted since the army seized power on Feb. 1, preventing her National League for Democracy party from starting a second five-year term in office. If found guilty in all cases, she could face more than 100 years in prison. At the first sentencing on Dec. 6, it was not clear whether Suu Kyi would be sent to prison, but when her sentence was halved, reports said she would serve her time at her current detention place. Suu Kyi has served 15 years of house arrest, starting in 1989. The incitement case involved statements posted on her party’s Facebook page after she and other party leaders had already been detained by the military, while the coronavirus charge involved a campaign appearance ahead of elections in November 2020, which her party overwhelmingly won. (AP) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.