Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi moved out of jail to house arrest during heatwave

MYANMAR’S jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heatwave, the military government said.

Yesterday, it also granted amnesties for more than 3,000 prisoners to mark this week’s traditional New Year holiday.

Ms Suu Kyi, 78, and Win Myint, the 72-year-old former president of her ousted government, were among the elderly and infirm prisoners moved from out of prison because of the severe heat, the military’s spokesman, Major General General Zaw Min Tun, told foreign media representatives.

The move has not yet been publicly announced in Myanmar.

Ms Suu Kyi’s transfer came as the army has been suffering a string of major defeats in its fight against prodemocracy resistance fighters and their allies in ethnic minority guerrilla forces.

The nationwide conflict began after the army ousted the elected government in February 2021, imprisoned Ms Suu Kyi and began suppressing non-violent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.

Ms Suu Kyi has been serving a 27-year prison term on a variety of criminal convictions in a speciallybuilt wing of the main prison in the capital, Naypyitaw, where Myanmar’s meteorological department said temperatures reached 39C (102.2F) on Tuesday afternoon.

Win Myint was serving an eightyear prison sentence in Taungoo in Myanmar’s Bago region.

Ms Suu Kyi’s supporters and independent analysts say the charges were fabricated in an attempt to discredit her and legitimise the military’s seizure of power.

The military had claimed that her National League for Democracy party used widespread electoral fraud to win a landslide victory in the 2020 general election, an allegation independent observers found unconvincing.