Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces new corruption charge amid reports of fresh violence

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Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 04 Feb 2022, 04:14 am Print

Myanmar | Suu Kyi

File image from Wikimedia Creative Commons

Naypyidaw, Myanmar (JEN): Myanmar's military leader has announced a new bribery charge against deposed civilian leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the country's state broadcaster.

The 76-year-old civilian leader is on trial in nearly a dozen cases that carry combined maximum sentences of at least 150 years in prison.

The 11th corruption charge was announced against Suu Kyi on Thursday, as the military junta reportedly launched fresh attacks on the civilian population in the northwestern Sagaing region of Myanmar.

Residents of two nearby villages — Mwe Tone and Pan — in the region alleged that troops had burned nearly 400 houses this week while searching for members of an armed militia opposed to military rule, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.

Troops in Myanmar’s embattled Sagaing region burned down more than 400 homes in two villages they accuse of providing a haven for anti-junta forces, forcing an estimated 10,000 civilians to flee, residents said.https://t.co/aPsCpTiCkp
— Radio Free Asia (@RadioFreeAsia) February 3, 2022

According to reports, the latest corruption charge has been slapped on Aung San Suu Kyi for allegedly receiving $550,000 as a donation for a charity foundation named after her mother.

She has already been sentenced to six years in prison for incitement against the military, breaching COVID-19 pandemic rules and breaking a telecommunications law.

Suu Kyi will remain under house arrest while she fights other charges, while each corruption charge carries a possible 15-year jail term, reports said.

File photo by Saw Wunna on Unsplash

Myanmar's Yangon-based media outlet The Irrawaddy reported, citing its sources, that Suu Kyi was too sick to attend court as the 76-year old was suffering from dizziness and nausea.

Myanmar has been enduring a year of turmoil since the military deposed Suu Kyi's elected government and seized power, ending the country's decade-old experiment with democracy, while more than 1,500 civilians have been killed in nation-wide violence since the military takeover, according to global human rights groups.

#Myanmar #MyanmarTurnmoil #AungSanSuuKyi #MyanmarMilitary #Junta #SagaingAttack