6-10-2023 (YANGON) Myanmar’s Supreme Court has dismissed the appeals made by Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team to overturn her convictions in corruption cases brought against her by the military regime. In a phone conversation on Friday, Zaw Min Aung, the director general of the court, confirmed that the top court rejected the appeals in six cases, resulting in Suu Kyi’s nine-year jail sentence. However, he refrained from providing further details.
The appeals lodged by lawyers representing the Nobel laureate aimed to challenge the convictions, four of which were related to donations made to a charity named after Suu Kyi’s mother, and two for allegedly receiving $550,000 from a construction tycoon. Following the rejection of her appeals by the junta courts, Suu Kyi’s legal team escalated the case to the Supreme Court. Throughout the process, Suu Kyi has consistently denied all charges brought against her.
In August, military chief Min Aung Hlaing granted a pardon for five out of the 19 convictions against Suu Kyi as part of a national amnesty. However, despite the reduction in her sentence, she still faced a cumulative prison term of 27 years, according to a source familiar with the matter at the time.
The 78-year-old leader was detained by the military following their seizure of power, citing allegations of widespread electoral fraud in a national election where her party secured over 80% of the available seats. Independent poll monitors found no significant irregularities in the election.
The military government recently extended the state of emergency for an additional six months until January 31. Consequently, hopes for a general election to be held this year have been dashed, as the country continues to grapple with escalated conflicts between ethnic armed groups and supporters of Suu Kyi.
