Military-led trial against deposed Myanmar leader kicks off behind closed doors

Behind closed doors and without images of the processed, at least for the moment. Thus began on Monday the trial against Aung San Suu Kyi,

de facto

leader

of

the civilian government deposed by the military in Myanmar on February 1. The process is scheduled to last until the end of July. She will be tried for up to seven crimes that her lawyers consider fabricated by the military to remove her from politics. The most serious of them is corruption, with maximum penalties of up to 15 years, for which the septuagenarian could spend the rest of her days behind bars. This would frustrate his desire to consolidate the democratic transition in Myanmar to which he gave his life.

"We wish for the best to happen, but we are prepared for the worst," Khin Maung Zaw, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, warned before the trial began this Monday in the capital, Naypyidó, according to the AFP agency.

During the same, which lasted for five hours, the policy, which turns 76 on Saturday, "seemed somewhat indisposed, but he followed the testimonies carefully," added the lawyer.

The legal team for the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize - an award then awarded for her role in the democratic movement that erupted in the country in 1988 - has only been able to meet with her twice since she was arrested on February 1, when the military gave the coup.

More information

• Violence leaves 120,000 Burmese in dire need in Myanmar

• Myanmar regime accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption on the eve of her trial

The judicial process that began this Monday includes only part of the charges against him, such as incitement to public agitation;

illegal importation of electronic devices (a few walkie-talkies);

and violation of the regulations imposed against the spread of the coronavirus during the electoral campaign of the elections last November.

The rest, of a more serious nature, including violating the law on official secrets (which carries a maximum of 14 years in prison) or corruption (up to fifteen years in prison), will be tried separately.

The entire process is expected to last until the end of July, with hearings every Monday.

"There is an undeniable will to keep her off the political scene and discredit her"

Khin Maung Zaw from Suu Kyi's team of lawyers

"There is an undeniable will to keep her off the political scene and discredit her," Khin Maung Zaw denounced last week when the corruption charges were announced. The Anticorruption Commission, controlled by the military, accused her of illegally accepting 600,000 dollars (about 493,000 euros) in cash and around eleven kilos of gold.

Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest during the previous military regime (which ruled Myanmar between 1962 and 2011), has been held incommunicado and arrested since the coup, and has only been seen at a pre-trial hearing on May 24. . The politician, known as "the lady," won elections last November at the head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which she helped found in 1988 and which the board dissolved last month. Alleging electoral fraud, the military struck the day when the new parliament was to be constituted, which would have meant the second legislature with Suu Kyi at the helm, which has already won those of 2015.

It is considered that the disagreements between the military and Suu Kyi, still very much subject to military power by the current constitution - drawn up by the uniformed in 2008 - were behind the Army's decision to take power by force. Seeing themselves increasingly cornered by Suu Kyi and the NLD, the Tatmadaw - as the armed forces are known - with Min Aung Hlaing at the fore, declared a state of emergency and detained Nobel and part of her cabinet, sparking massive protests in the country that still endure.

These demonstrations call for the release of Suu Kyi and the return of the democratic transition (2011-2021).

“All charges against Suu Kyi should be dropped and she should be immediately and unconditionally released.

But, sadly, the fact that the process is controlled by the military junta makes it very unlikely that justice will be done, ”Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch, denounced in a statement.

Myanmar has been in chaos since the military struck, with at least 862 killed by security forces and more than 4,500 detained, according to the Association for the Protection of Political Prisoners.