Updated Jan 10, 2022 - World

Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 4 more years in prison

Rebecca Falconer

Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi looks on before the UN's International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 in the Peace Palace of The Hague. — Myanmar's democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Hague in the Netherlands in 2019. Photo: Koen Van Weel/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

A Myanmar court sentenced the country's ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Monday to an additional four years in prison on charges related to illegally importing and owning walkie-talkies and for breaking pandemic rules, per AP.

Why it matters: It's the latest verdict in a slew of cases brought by Myanmar's military junta that could see the 76-year-old Nobel laureate imprisoned for the rest of her life.

The big picture: Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won Myanmar's 2020 elections in a landslide, but the military overthrew the government and detained her and other officials in a coup last February.

Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison last month by a junta court for inciting public unrest and breaking COVID-19 protocols. This was later reduced to two years.
She denies all charges she's accused of and faces 102 years in prison if convicted.

Meanwhile, security forces have killed hundreds of activists and arrested thousands of others following massive protests in the wake of the coup.

What's next: Other charges Suu Kyi faces include multiple counts of corruption and violating the Official Secrets Act.

Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint and several other officials have also been charged with alleged electoral fraud, AFP notes.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 4 more years in prison

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