New allegations of “fraud” in the 2020 parliamentary elections have been made against former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted by an army coup on February 1, state media reported today.
The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that she had been charged with “electoral fraud”, without giving further details.
Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for more than nine months. In addition, 15 other officials, including former President Wayne Mead, who was also arrested after the coup, are charged with the same crime.
The military justified the coup by claiming that it had identified more than 11 million irregularities in the November 2020 elections, which were won by the National League for Democracy (LND), Suu Kyi’s party. No allegations of electoral fraud have been made so far.
In addition, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has threatened to disband the LND and assures that new elections will be held in Myanmar by August 2023.
“False accusations”
“The junta is using false accusations of electoral fraud to justify the coup,” said Richard Horsi of the International Crisis Group.
“Aung San Suu Kyi and her party enjoy great support from voters and the verdicts will not convince anyone,” he added.
Suu Kyi, 76, has been on trial since June for a series of offenses – illegal importation of walkie-talkies, corruption, insurgency, incitement to riot and breach of the covid-19 pandemic.
If convicted, she risks many years in prison.
The media is not allowed to be present at her trial, which is being held in camera before a special court in Naipa. The junta has also banned its legal team from speaking to journalists and international organizations.
In late October, Wu Hain, an 80-year-old close associate of Suu Kyi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for treason.
The February coup ended a ten-year democratic bracket in Myanmar.
After all, the junta continues the bloody repression of dissidents. More than 1,250 civilians have been killed and nearly 7,300 are in prison, according to the Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The military junta has arrested more than 100 journalists among thousands of people detained for taking part in anti-coup protests.
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Source From: Capital
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