Suu Kyi’s prison sentence has been increased to 26 years due to graft convictions

On Wednesday, a court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on two more corruption charges, handing down two three-year sentences to be served concurrently, adding to previous convictions that now total 26 years in prison. Suu Kyi, 77, was arrested on February 1, 2021, when the military deposed her elected government.

She has refuted the accusations made against her in this case, in which she was charged with accepting a bribe of USD 500,000 from Maung Weik, a businessman who was previously found guilty of trafficking illegal drugs. Having previously been found guilty of sedition, election fraud, unlawfully importing and possessing walkie-talkies, breaking the country’s official secrets statute, violating coronavirus limits, and five other corruption-related crimes, she had already received a 23-year prison sentence.

Supporters and independent experts claim that all of the accusations are politically motivated and meant to damage her and validate the military’s takeover of power while preventing her from running in the 2023 election that the military has promised.