By Ebi Kesiena
A court in Myanmar sentenced the country’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in jail on Monday, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s military, Zaw Min Tun said, Suu Kyi was found guilty of incitement and of violating COVID-19 rules. She received two years in prison on each of the two charges.
Former President Win Myint got the same jail sentence in the first verdicts against the former leaders who were put on trial after the military seized power in a coup on Feb. 1.
According to Min Tun, the pair will not be taken to prison yet.
“They will face other charges from the places where they are staying now in the capital Naypyidaw.”
Suu Kyi and Win Myint were sentenced to four years in prison each.
The trial in Naypyidaw has been closed to the media, while the military has barred Suu Kyi’s lawyers from communicating with the media and the public.
The ruling on Monday is the first in a dozen cases the military has brought against Suu Kyi since it deposed her civilian government in a coup.
Other cases against the Nobel Peace Prize laureate include multiple charges of corruption, violations of a state secrets act, and a telecoms law that altogether carry a maximum sentence of more than a century in prison.
Suu Kyi denies all the charges.
Her supporters say the cases are baseless and designed to end her political career and tie her up in legal proceedings while the military consolidates power.
