Human rights experts suspect that the junta wants to silence the 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate with the help of judicial proceedings in the long term.
During the questioning of witnesses in the capital Naypyidaw, the former head of government of the Yangon region, Phyo Min Thein, accused the politician of passive bribery with cash and gold, according to a report by the Guardian.
Lawyers called for an adjournment
According to her lawyer, Phyo Min Thein did not look the accused in the eye when he testified, wrote Guardian reporter Rebecca Ratcliffe in the paper. Her lawyers requested that the trial be adjourned because they could not speak to Suu Kyi. The procedure should continue next Friday. The politician faces 14 years imprisonment.
Chaos and violence after a military coup
Suu Kyi has been imprisoned since the February 1 coup. The military declared a state of emergency and bloodily suppressed protests; economic and social hardship intensified. According to estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Myanmar’s economy is likely to shrink by 18.4 percent this year. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses those in power of crimes against humanity, murder, torture and sexual violence. The military has only announced new elections for August 2023. The last election was clearly won by Suu Kyi with her National League for Democracy.
