Myanmar's ousted Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Gets 5 Years Jail In Graft Cases

According to Reuters, the judge handed down the verdict within moments of the court convening and gave no explanation.

By Edward Era Barbacena

Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to five years in jail by a court in the military-ruled country after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, is charged with at least 18 offences carrying combined maximum jail terms of nearly 190 years, all but killing off any chance of a political comeback.

According to Reuters, the judge handed down the verdict within moments of the court convening and gave no explanation.

Meanwhile, Suu Kyi expressed displeasure over the verdict and said that she would appeal.

The 76-year-old led Myanmar for five years during a short period of tentative democracy before being forced from power in a coup in February 2021 by the military.

It was not immediately clear if she would be transferred to a prison to serve the sentence.

Since her arrest she has been held in an undisclosed location, where junta chief Min Aung Hlaing previously said she could stay after convictions in December and January for comparatively minor offences that led to a six-year term.

The latest case centred on accusations that Suu Kyi accepted 11.4 kg (402 oz) of gold and cash payments totalling $600,000 from her protege-turned-accuser, former chief minister of the city of Yangon, Phyo Min Thein.

Suu Kyi had called the accusations "absurd" and denies all charges against her, which include violations of electoral and state secrets laws, incitement and corruption.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the coup, with the military using lethal force to suppress nationwide protests and public anger. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested and many killed, tortured and beaten, in what the United Nations has called crimes against humanity.