Aung San Suu Kyi, the former de facto leader of Myanmar who was ousted during the February 1 military coup, was on Monday sentenced to four years in prison after she was “found guilty on charges of inciting dissent and breaking Covid rules under a natural disasters law”, the media reported.
According to the BBC, Monday’s sentencing was the “first in a series of verdicts that could jail her for life”.
The 76-year-old former State Councillor faces a total of 11 years, She has denied them all.
Following the coup which toppled her National League for Democracy (NLD) government, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, ousted President Win Myint was also jailed on Monday for four years under the same charges.
The coup was staged after the military alleged voter fraud in the 2020 general elections in which the NLD won by a landslide.
The military takeover triggered widespread demonstrations and Myanmar’s military has cracked down on pro-democracy protesters, activists and journalists, according to rights groups.
Suu Kyi is one of more than 10,600 people to have been arrested by the junta since February, and at least 1,303 others killed in the demonstrations, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
