Naypyidaw
Myanmar military has announced clemency for Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. Both have been jailed since the February 2021 coup, with Suu Kyi convicted of 19 crimes, with a total prison sentence of 33 years, reports Myanmar Now.org. Myanmar Now, an independent news service providing news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English, said the clemency would not pardon Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint for all alleged crimes, but only reduce their sentences.
Earlier in July, Myanmar’s junta moved former leader Aung San Suu Kyi from a prison in the capital Naypyidaw to a “more comfortable state-owned residence”, said a party official and a source with ties to the prison. The quote was given in a report by Radio Free. Asia (RFA). RFA is a private non-profit news service funded by the United States government. An NLD official, who declined to be named because of security concerns, told RFA Burmese: “It has been confirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in a house in a residential area of Naypyidaw.”
A source with ties to Naypyidaw prison, where Suu Kyi, head of the ousted National League for Democracy, has been held since the military seized power in a February 1, 2021 coup, also confirmed that the former state Counselor ” transferred”. Both sources could only confirm that the move had happened “recently”, but were unable to confirm the exact date or location.
Media reports said that Suu Kyi was shifted to the residence of deputy ministers in the capital on 24 July. Attempts by RFA to contact junta deputy information minister Major General Zaw Min Tun for comment remained unanswered on Friday.
Suu Kyi, 78, was found guilty by junta courts of corruption charges and violations of election and state secrets laws, faced a total of 33 years in prison on 19 counts and was placed in solitary confinement in Naypyidaw. Suu Kyi’s supporters say the charges were politically motivated. A second NLD official suggested to RFA on Friday that the transfer may have been done in response to growing domestic and international pressure on the junta to end Myanmar’s political impasse.
“The junta has told the world through this transfer that it is also facing difficulties in resolving the unrest in Myanmar,” the official said, according to RFA. Myanmar’s junta has been involved in a long-standing conflict with Myanmar’s burgeoning armed resistance groups and ethnic armed organizations since the military detained Suu Kyi and other top NLD leaders during the coup.
