The Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and former head of government of Myanmar is in solitary confinement. Her lawyers have no access to her. How is her health?
Former freedom icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been in solitary confinement in Myanmar, apparently incommunicado, since being sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison.
“She is still in solitary confinement in the prison in the capital, Naypyidaw,” a source close to Suu Kyi, who wished to remain anonymous, told the German Press Agency. “Information about her health is only available from people who work in the prison.” Her lawyers also have no access to her. San Mar Lar Nyunt, one of her defenders, brought mail and food for her, but was not allowed to see her.
Suu Kyi was arrested after the February 2021 military coup. She was later indicted by a military junta-controlled court in Myanmar on numerous alleged crimes, including incitement to sedition and corruption. The last verdict against the 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner came at the end of December last year.
“It’s not easy to survive in prison”
After initially being held under house arrest, she was sent to prison in June 2022. Her lawyers were banned from speaking. Suu Kyi was last seen in public in May 2021, when state television showed footage of her in the courtroom.
“She has always been strong and healthy normally, but she will soon be 78 (on June 19) and surviving in prison is not easy,” the source continued. There is information from the detention center that she sometimes has a fever, headache and toothache.
A date has not yet been set for the appeals process sought by the defense, the source said. Only then should the lawyers probably go back to her.
After the triumphant election victory of Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, the military staged a coup in 2021. At that time, the politician had already been the de facto head of government in the former Burma for five years and, after decades of military rule, had initiated tentative reforms. The generals justified the overthrow with alleged electoral fraud. However, experts assume that they were more concerned about Suu Kyi’s popularity and wanted to silence her.
Source: Stern
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