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Aung Suu Kyi faces 33-year prison sentence after final closed trial

A Myanmar military court found Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of five counts of corruption on Friday, per AP.

The big picture: It's the final of a series of cases that the court has convicted Suu Kyi of in closed-door trials denounced as shams by rights groups since the military overthrew her democratically elected government in February 2021.


  • Suu Kyi was already facing a 26-year prison sentence after being convicted of several different charges that mostly relate to corruption, but also include illegally importing and using walkie-talkies and violating the Official Secrets Act.
  • The military court sentenced Suu Kyi Friday to seven years' imprisonment, taking the Nobel laureate's total prison sentence to 33 years.

Of note: The United Nations Security Council in its first resolution on the Myanmar turmoil since the coup last week called for the "immediate release" of the 77-year-old and all those detained by the junta.

By the numbers: Su Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are among nearly 16,700 people arrested since the junta snatched power, per data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

  • Over 13,100 others remain in detention, according to the monitoring group.
  • AAPP data indicates that nearly 2,700 people have been killed during military crackdowns on pro-democracy protests following Suu Kyi's ouster.  
  • The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates that more than 1 million people have been internally displaced and another 70,000 have fled Myanmar since the coup.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

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