Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has gone on trial, appearing unwell as the first witnesses took the stand in cases against her of illegally possessing walkie-talkie radios and breaking coronavirus protocols, her lawyer says.
Ms Suu Kyi, 75, faces a slew of charges since being overthrown by the army in a February 1 coup that cut short a decade of tentative democratic reforms and has plunged the south-east Asian country into chaos.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi seemed not very well but throughout the hearing she seemed quite interested and paid keen attention,” the head of her legal team, Khin Maung Zaw, said after the day of hearings.
Ms Suu Kyi’s supporters say the charges are politically motivated and designed to end the political life of a woman who championed democracy for decades under previous military administrations, much of the time under house arrest.
QUICK FACTS OF @MyanmarSC AUNG SAN SUU KYI DAY 1 TRIAL
– Court heard 2 cases: Breaching telecoms act + #COVID19 law
– Court started 10:30am with prosecution witnesses taking stand
– Ms Suu Kyi says she has mild toothache but healthy otherwise
— Leong Wai Kit (@LeongWaiKitCNA) June 14, 2021
The Nobel peace prize laureate faced three cases on Monday at the specially built court in the capital Naypyidaw, where she had already appeared at preliminary hearings.
Two of Monday’s cases were linked to possessing radios and one under the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching coronavirus regulations while campaigning for the election she won in November 2020.
She also faces charges of incitement – with hearings set for Tuesday – and more serious charges of violating the Official Secrets Act and under the Anti-Corruption Law.
Former president Win Myint also faces charges of violating the coronavirus measures.
Police Major Myint Naing took the stand against him and Ms Suu Kyi and testified in the cases about the radios.
Monday’s hearings lasted more than five hours.
Her legal team have denied any wrongdoing by Ms Suu Kyi and her chief lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, called the most recent corruption charges “absurd”.
.@hrw made this statement at the start of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial based on politically motivated & bogus charges filed by the #Myanmar military junta. This is all about keeping Suu Kyi under lock & key, making sure she can never run again in another election. #SaveMyanmar pic.twitter.com/1TsIFgSPeh
— Phil Robertson (@Reaproy) June 14, 2021
Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said the charges Ms Suu Kyi faced were “bogus, and politically motivated” and “should be dropped, resulting in her immediate and unconditional release”.
The army says it took power by force because Ms Suu Kyi’s party won the election through fraud, an accusation rejected by the previous election commission and international monitors.
Myanmar’s security forces have killed at least 862 people during their crackdown on protests since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, though the junta disputes the number.
Pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of the main city of Yangon on Monday, some chanting “revolutionary war, we participate”, according to social media posts.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said on Friday that violence was intensifying and condemned the army’s “outrageous” use of heavy weapons.
Ms Bachelet said the junta had shown no willingness to implement a five-point consensus it agreed with the Association of South-East Asian Nations in April to halt violence and start dialogue with its opponents.
Myanmar’s junta-led ministry of foreign affairs has rejected Ms Bachelet’s statement, questioning the accuracy and impartiality of the report.
“The report neither mentioned nor condemned the acts of sabotage and terrorism committed by the unlawful associations and terrorist groups as well as the sufferings and deaths of the security forces,” it said.
The junta has branded a rival National Unity Government set up by supporters of Ms Suu Kyi as a terrorist group and blamed it for bombings, arson and killings.
