Myanmar Police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after Coup

Myanmar Police have filed charges against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for illegally importing communications equipment & she will be detained until Feb 15 for investigations, according to a Police document.

Myanmar’s army seized power on Monday, detaining Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and cutting short a transition to democracy in a takeover that has drawn condemnation from the United States & other Western countries.

A police request to a court detailing the accusations against 75-year-old Nobel laureate Suu Kyi said walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in the capital, Naypyidaw. It said the radios were imported illegally & used without permission.

The document reviewed on Wednesday requested Suu Kyi’s detention “in order to question witnesses, request evidence & seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant”.

A separate document showed police filed charges against ousted President Win Myint for offences under the Disaster Management Law.

Reuters wasn't immediately able to reach the police, the government or the court for comment.

Suu Kyi endured about fifteen years of house arrest between 1989 & 2010 as she led the country’s democracy movement & she remains hugely popular at home despite damage to her international reputation over the flight of Muslim Rohingya refugees in 2017.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party said earlier in a statement that its offices had been raided in several regions & urged authorities to stop what it called unlawful acts after its victory in a Nov. 8 election.

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power on the grounds of fraud in a Nov. 8 election, which the NLD won in a landslide. The electoral commission had said the vote it was fair.

The Group of Seven largest developed economies condemned the coup on Wednesday & said the election result must be respected.

“We call upon the military to immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically-elected government, to release all those unjustly detained & to respect human rights & the rule of law,” the G7 said in a statement. 

Source Link