Myanmar’s Suu Kyi back in court after health no-show
FILE PHOTO: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi attends the joint news conference of the Japan-Mekong Summit Meeting at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan October 9, 2018. Franck Robichon/Pool via Reuters
YANGON — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned to a junta court on Friday after skipping a previous hearing because she felt unwell, a source with knowledge of the case said.
Suu Kyi has been detained since her civilian government was ousted in a coup last year that triggered mass protests and a bloody military crackdown, with more than 1,500 civilians killed, according to a local monitoring group.
Cut off from the world except for brief meetings with her legal team and court appearances, the Nobel laureate faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for more than 150 years.
She skipped Thursday’s hearing in her trial on charges of breaching the official secrets act because she felt “dizzy”, a source with knowledge of the case said.
Detained Australian academic Sean Turnell is a co-defendant alongside Suu Kyi in that case.
Suu Kyi returned on Friday for the latest hearing in one of her corruption trials, related to the leasing of a helicopter, the source said.
“Now she is well,” the source added.
The 76-year-old Suu Kyi missed a hearing in September due to illness, and in October her lawyer said her health had suffered from her frequent appearances before the junta-run court.
Journalists are barred from the proceedings in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and her lawyers have been barred from speaking to the press.
On Thursday the junta announced it had filed an eleventh corruption charge against Suu Kyi for allegedly receiving $550,000 as a donation for a charity foundation named after her mother.
She has already been sentenced to six years in jail for incitement against the military, breaching Covid-19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law — although she will remain under house arrest while she fights other charges.
