Verdict in former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi case to be read
The postponed verdict in the trial of Myanmar’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected today.
The verdict, which is on an alleged violation of the Export-Import law in order to use personal walkie-talkies, will be read today in a Naypyidaw court and carries a sentence of 4 years. Suu Kyi’s defense team’s original argument that the leader did not own the walkie-talkies was ultimately dismissed.
This will be the second political conviction brought against Suu Kyi, after she was previously sentenced earlier this month to four years in prison, a sentence eventually halved by the current leader of Myanmar’s military junta government, General Min Aung Hlaing, likely as a response to widespread protest.
Suu Kyi will receive the full 4-year sentence, and General Aung Hlaing may also reduce the sentence in an attempt to quell the hordes of protesters across Myanmar. However, the partial pardons will not be enough to silence the protests, as the UN has noted the marked rise of armed resistance groups during the trial of the ousted leader. If the junta does not make any major reversal of course, civil war will become quite likely, contributing the current unstable situation in Myanmar.
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