Former State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint's jail term was reduced from four years to two years by the ruling military regime on Monday. Win Myint and Suu Kyi will continue to be held at the current undisclosed locations, according to a state media report. Both Suu Kyi and Win Myint were sentenced to 4 years in prison earlier on Monday on charges of inciting dissent and breaking Covid rules under the Natural Disaster Management Law.
Key Points:
1. Noble laureate Suu Kyi currently faces a total of 11 charges including the violation of the Official Secrets Act. However, the 76-year-old has denied all allegations. She is one of the 10,600 people who have been arrested by the junta since February 2021.
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2. The old former State Councillor was also under house arrest at an undisclosed location after the National League for Democracy (NLD) government was toppled by the Myanmar Army in February this year.
3. The NLD had won a majority of seats in both houses of Parliament in the November 2020 elections which the military claimed to be the result of a massive voting fraud which was followed by the coup overthrowing the government.
4. Prior to 2020, the NLD government had also won an absolute majority in the 2015 general elections. Suu Kyi had been running the government since 2016 and the term which was expected to end in March 2021 ended early for the ruling government after the coup.
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5. After the coup, all powers of the state of Myanmar are transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. The military overtake also triggered nationwide rallies and the military took severe measures against such pro-democracy protesters, activists, and journalists, as per media reports and rights groups. The monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners also said that more than 1,303 people were killed in the demonstrations and above 10,600 people have been arrested so far.
