Myanmar court defers first verdicts in Suu Kyi's trial

NAYPYITAW • A court in military-ruled Myanmar yesterday deferred the first verdicts in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Dec 6, a source familiar with the proceedings said.

The Nobel Peace laureate, who led an elected civilian government that was ousted in a Feb 1 military coup, has been held incommunicado and on trial since June, with court hearings taking place behind closed doors.

The court had yesterday been due to rule on charges of incitement and violations of Covid-19 protocols under a natural disasters law, among nearly a dozen cases against Ms Suu Kyi, 76, who has rejected all the charges.

If convicted, the sentences could see her locked up for the rest of her life. She faces a maximum imprisonment of 102 years in all.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not give a reason for the deferral.

A gag order has been imposed on all five of the defendant's lawyers on grounds that their communications to the media may "destabilise the country".

Ms Suu Kyi's supporters say the cases against her are politically motivated. She is also charged with corruption and breaches of an Official Secrets Act. Prosecutors have continued to slap more charges on her as her case proceeded.

Yesterday's verdict is the first of several that are expected to be announced in the coming months.

Myanmar has been in chaos since Ms Suu Kyi was overthrown in the February coup, with the junta struggling to consolidate power amid protests, strikes and armed resistance by militias allied with a shadow government in retaliation against the military's use of deadly force.

Ms Suu Kyi is a flawed hero for a troubled nation, where her supporters describe her as a defender of the country's democracy, for which she won her Nobel. But her reputation on the international stage was tarnished over her complicity in the military's mass atrocities against the Rohingya.

Yesterday's ruling on the charge of inciting public unrest was expected to come a year after Ms Suu Kyi led her party to a landslide election victory, trouncing the military-backed opposition party.

A guilty verdict would likely galvanise a protest movement that has spurred thousands of people to take up arms against the army. In the months since the coup, people have gathered in the streets, doctors and nurses have stopped work in protest, and many have refused to pay taxes in a campaign known as the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Despite the threat of arrest, there is still widespread support for the movement. A growing number of soldiers are defecting, teaming up with armed protesters and insurgent groups to launch hit-and-run attacks against the military.

The junta has responded by cracking down - it has killed 1,297 people and arrested more than 10,500 others, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a human rights organisation based in Thailand.

The National Unity Government, a group of deposed civilian leaders, said last week that it raised US$6.3 million (S$8.6 million) from people who bought "bonds" to fund its revolution.

Ms Suu Kyi has not been seen in public or been able to speak to anyone beside her lawyers since she was detained on Feb 1 and accused of voter fraud just hours before she and her colleagues from the National League for Democracy party were to take their seats in Parliament.

REUTERS, NYTIMES