Aung San Suu Kyi gets 4 years in Myanmar prison: 10 things you should know

Popular Burmese politician, diplomat, author and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been jailed for four years by Myanmar government. She was found guilty on charges of inciting dissent and breaking Covid rules under a natural disaster law.

Here are 10 points you should know about Aung San Suu Kyi and why has she been jailed: 

1. Suu Kyi is facing 11 charges in total; all of which have been widely condemned as unjust. She has denied all charges. If found guily on all, she could be imprisoned for 102 years.

2. The incitment charge emerged from the statements made on the Facebook pages of Suu Kyi’s party after she was detained by the military. Her detainment came after a coup that prevented her from starting a second term in office. 

3. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has condemned the sentencing and called on Myanmar to 'release all political prisoners and allow a return to democracy'. She said, "The arbitrary detention of elected politicians only risks further unrest [in the country]."

4. Amnesty International has called the charges "bogus". The organisation called Suu Kyi's imprisonment sentence the "latest example of the military's determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar".

5. Suu Kyi's lawyers have been served with 'gag orders', which means that they are forbidden from releasing information on her case.

6. Dr Sasa, a spokesperson from the National Unity Government, a group made up of 'pro-democracy figures and opponents of the coup', told BBC, "She is not OK... military generals are preparing for 104 years of sentences for her in prison. They want her to die in prison."

7. Since Suu Kyi’s detention, protests have been occuring all over Myanmar, demanding her release between December 4-5. The protests in Yangon have resulted in the death of 5 and arrest of at least 15. 

8. Before her recent detention, between the years 1989 and 2010, Suu Kyi has spent nearly 15 years in detention because of the military. 

9. Suu Kyi is set to next appear in court on December 14 on the charge of possessing illegal walkie-talkies. 

10. Legal experts and Suu Kyi's supporters believe that these charges are being placed against her to have her discredited and to justify the military's seizure of power in February 2021.