Verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi case to be announced
A Myanmar court is set to announce the verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi case today.
The trial against the ousted leader has been ongoing in Naypyidaw since June, with hearings being held behind closed doors. The ruling military junta recently placed a gag order on Suu Kyi’s defense team, and much of the trial has been highly secretive, and delivering the verdict was pushed from late November to today.
The trial is likely to produce a harsh sentence for Suu Kyi’s, even though the charges appear politically motivated. A close aid from Suu Kyi’s administration was recently sentenced to 75 years in prison for similar charges.
The hearing is demonstrative of a nationwide backslide of democracy. Suu Kyi will likely lose the case, and her supporters will likely aggressively protest, further contributing to the instability the junta has failed to control. Myanmar faces a crisis, as the West has largely withdrawn all support and imposed sanctions and embargos as a result of the coup. The imprisonment of the widely popular former ruler will drive the country further into chaos, and force the ruling regime to look towards more authoritarian governments for support, such as Russia and China.
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