Five cases of corruption involving President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in connection with the purchase of a disaster relief helicopter were heard yesterday in a court in Naypyidaw.
It is the latest in a series of back-to-back trials the deposed leader faces in Naypyidaw. A day earlier, she pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes from former Yangon Prime Minister Phyo Min Thein.
According to reports, Suu Kyi on Monday denied the charges brought by the junta, aka the State Administration Council, since generals took power in February 2021, at the Zabu Thiri Special Court.
The case alleges that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi accepted US$600,000 (MMK1.1 million) and gold from Phyo Min Thein on three occasions. A court date was set last week to rule on whether to file an indictment.
“She was charged today in connection with the above case,” a source close to the court told DVB TV News. “She denied any wrongdoing. Phyo Min Thein said he would like to call witnesses to testify in the case. They will be examined at a later date.”
Among those to be called for questioning are Phyo Min Thein and his wife, Khin Mi Mi Kywe, Ye Htet and Maung Maung Kyi.
She’s already been sentenced to a total of six years since the trials began last year.
Since December, Suu Kyi has been convicted of importing and possessing walkie talkies, as well as breaching pandemic measures with her party’s campaigning in the run-up to the 2020 election. So far, she has been sentenced to terms of four and two years, to be served concurrently.
The charges have been denounced as trumped up and politically driven. The trials have been closed to the public and media.
More than 1,500 individuals have been killed during the anti-coup protests across Myanmar by security forces, with 9,399 detained behind bars, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), a human rights organization based in Mae Sot, Thailand.
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