Court gives Suu Kyi 4-yr jail, junta leader makes it 2

dpa Bangkok Ousted Myanmar leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint have received partial pardons from the country’s military chief that reduce their sentenc...

dpaBangkokOusted Myanmar leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint have received partial pardons from the country’s military chief that reduce their sentences from four to two years, state media announced.Both had initially been sentenced to four years in prison for incitement and violating Covid-19 restrictions during last year’s election campaign.The junta’s mouthpiece news outlet also said they will remain under house arrest.Earlier, a special court in Myanmar sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison for incitement and violating Covid-19 restrictions on Monday, according to sources with knowledge of the proceedings.The verdicts, handed down in closed court, were the first in a series of 12 cases against the Nobel laureate that leave her potentially facing jail time totalling more than 100 years.Suu Kyi, 76, has been accused of a range of offences, including violations of a state secrets law as well as foreign trading laws.Additionally, for waving to supporters, she was charged with breach of coronavirus restrictions, despite wearing a face mask and a protective visor.Ousted president Win Myint was also sentenced to four years on the same charges.As journalists and members of the public were banned from attending the trial, Suu Kyi’s reaction to the sentences is unknown. It is also unclear whether Suu Kyi will actually have to serve time in prison or be allowed to remain under house arrest.International reactions to the verdict have been scathing.Calling the charges against Suu Kyi “bogus” and the sentence “ridiculous,” Amnesty International condemned the verdict, linking it to a wider pattern of repression in the country: “The court’s farcical and corrupt decision is part of a devastating pattern of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup was effected in February.”Human Rights Watch’s Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson struck a similar note: “This trial was 100 per cent political from day one, done with clear intent to lock [Suu Kyi] away for good so she can never again contest military rule.” Suu Kyi was arrested on February 1, hours before the military overthrew the country’s democratically elected civilian leaders and returned the country to military rule.Myanmar has been in political turmoil since the military coup, with the military struggling to contain peaceful street protests and civil disobedience movements, as well as anti-junta militias across the country seeking to unseat the military government by force.