Myanmar court due to deliver first verdicts in Suu Kyi trial

A court in Myanmar is expected to deliver the first verdicts in a series of trials of the country’s deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The verdicts due on Monday are to do with charges of incitement and breach of COVID-19 protocols.

If found guilty, Aung San Suu Kyi and her co-defendant, Myanmar’s deposed  President Win Myint, each face jail terms of up to five years.

The verdicts were supposed to have been announced last week but were deferred.

The cases are among a dozen filed against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The other charges include multiple charges of corruption, violations of a state secrets act, and a telecoms law that carry a combined maximum sentence of more than a century in prison.

Aung San Suu Kyi, detained as the generals seized control of the country on February 1, denies all the charges.

Supporters of the 76-year-old leader say the cases are baseless and designed to end her political career and tie her up in legal proceedings while the military consolidates power.

The military says Aung San Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent court led by a judge appointed by her administration.

The trial in the capital Naypyidaw has been closed to the media, and the military’s public information outlets have not mentioned the proceedings.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers have been barred from communicating with the media and public.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup, paralysed by protests and instability that escalated after the military’s deadly crackdown on its opponents, who it calls “terrorists”.

The international community has condemned the violence, and Western states have demanded Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.