5-7-2023 (YANGON) Myanmar’s Supreme Court heard final arguments on Wednesday (July 5) in the appeals by ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her convictions in two cases of election fraud and breaching the Official Secrets Act, according to a legal official.
Suu Kyi, who was 78 years old when she was arrested in February 2021, has been convicted of several criminal offenses by the military government and sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison. Her supporters and legal experts claim that the cases are an attempt by the military to legitimize their seizure of power while discrediting her and preventing her from returning to politics.
Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing was not open to the media or the public, and Suu Kyi’s lawyers were served with gag orders in late 2021, preventing them from releasing information. Neither Suu Kyi nor any of her co-defendants attended the hearing.
The legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, said that the Supreme Court could reach its decisions in the next two months. Suu Kyi’s lawyers submitted final arguments on her behalf in the two cases, while prosecutors presented their arguments against her release.
The lawyers also filed appeal arguments on behalf of former President Win Myint and Min Thu, a former minister of the government office, who were convicted with Suu Kyi in the election fraud case. All three received three-year prison sentences last September.
In the Official Secrets Act case, Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence last September after being convicted with Sean Turnell, an Australian economist, and three members of her Cabinet. Turnell and two of the Cabinet members have been released after receiving amnesties, while the third, Set Aung, a former deputy minister of planning, finance and industry, was released last month after reportedly serving his sentence.
The legal official said that Suu Kyi’s lawyers would file another argument next week for an appeal of her conviction on five corruption charges. She was found guilty of abusing her position and causing the loss of state funds and sentenced to seven years in prison in total for the five counts, which involved giving permission to a Cabinet member, Win Myat Aye, to hire, buy, and maintain a helicopter.
The court set July 18 for a hearing on whether to accept special appeals in additional cases in which Suu Kyi was convicted of sedition, illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, and violating coronavirus restrictions. Appeals of her convictions on seven other corruption charges are still being processed.
Suu Kyi’s legal team has faced several hurdles, including being unable to meet with her to receive her instructions for the appeals. They have applied five times for permission to meet with Suu Kyi since they last saw her in person last December, but have not received any response, the legal official said.
The military’s takeover in 2021 sparked widespread peaceful protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, leading to armed resistance and what some United Nations experts have called a civil war.
