A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced its ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison on corruption charges, reported the Associated Press. With the latest judgement, Suu Kyi’s total jail term has increased to 26 years.
Suu Kyi was ousted following a military takeover in February 2021 and has been under house arrest since then. On Wednesday, a junta court convicted her for accepting a bribe of $6,00,000 (over Rs 4.59 crore) in gold bars and cash from the former head of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and region.
Since February 2021, the Myanmarese authorities have convicted the Nobel laureate of 18 offences including corruption charges, and election violations, carrying combined maximum terms of nearly 190 years, reported Reuters.
On Wednesday Suu Kyi was convicted for receiving $5,50,000 (Rs 4.5 crore) as a bribe from Maung Weik, a tycoon convicted several years ago of drug trafficking, reported AP.
The 77-year-old politician has refuted all the allegations against her, reported Reuters.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party had won a landslide victory in the 2020 general election, but the Army refused to accept the result citing unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. She and many of of her party members have been arrested by the junta since they seized power.
The politician is being held in solitary confinement in the capital city of Naypyitaw while the trials have been conducted in closed courts.
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