On second day of trial, Suu Kyi faces sedition charges
BANGKOK: The trial of Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered its second day on Tuesday, with the prosecution presenting arguments that she incited public disorder and flouted coronavirus restrictions, part of a package of charges the ruling junta is seen as using to discredit her and consolidate its control.
Suu Kyi and other members of her government and her National League for Democracy party were arrested by the military after the February 1 coup, with criminal charges brought against some of the top figures on litany of charges that both their supporters and independent observers say are bogus.
Tuesday’s session was to cover a sedition charge brought against Suu Kyi, along with a second count of violating Covid-19 restrictions. The sedition charge, which is sometimes described as incitement, calls for up to two years’ imprisonment for anyone found guilty of causing fear or alarm that could cause an offence against the state or public tranquillity.
The trial, which is closed to the public and media, opened
Monday in the capital Nayptitaw, with police outlining several of the cases against her.
Under house arrest and invisible bar a handful of court appearances, Suu Kyi has been hit with an eclectic raft of charges, including accepting illegal payments of gold and violating a colonial-era secrecy law.
Some of the charges carry potential penalties as high as 15 years in prison. But a conviction on virtually any could result in Suu Kyi’s being banned from running in any future election, which many believe is the military’s goal. One of the military’s justifications for the coup was that last year’s election was marred by fraud.