REUTERS Bria Webb
Nov 30 Reuters -- A court in military-ruled Myanmar is due to deliver the first verdicts on Tuesday in nearly a dozen cases against the former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on trial for crimes that carry combined maximum jail sentences of more than 100 years.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate led an elected civilian government that was ousted in a Feb. 1 military coup, has been held incommunicado and has been on trial since June, with court hearings behind closed doors.
According to a source with knowledge of the proceedings, a judge will rule on Tuesday on charges of incitement and breaking a natural disasters law by violating COVID 19 protocols, which carry jail terms of up to two and three years respectively.
Facing the same fate if found guilty is co-defendant Win Myint, the ousted president and Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy NLD party ally.
Neither the junta nor state media have provided any information about the proceedings and a gag order has been imposed on the defendants' lawyers. Suu Kyi is also charged with corruption and breaches of an official secret act.
The defendants' lawyers have demanded their release and the United States and experts from the United Nations have condemned the indictments.
Suu Kyi is being given due process by an independent judiciary, according to a spokesman for the junta, who did not respond to calls on Monday.
Suu Kyi, 76, supporters of the case say the cases are politically motivated and designed to end the political life of a woman who championed democracy for decades under previous military rulers, much of the time under house arrest.
Myanmar has been in a state of chaos since her overthrow, with the junta struggling to consolidate power amid protests, strikes and armed resistance by militias allied with a shadow government in retaliation for the military's use of deadly force.
The incitement case is based on an unsigned letter sent by the NLD while Suu Kyi was in detention, which has urged embassies not to recognise the junta.
The other accuses COVID 19 violations during election campaigning last year. The two deny wrongdoing.
Richard Horsey, a Myanmar expert at the International Crisis Group, said the charges were intended to sideline a popularly elected leader.
The generals know that these verdicts will convince no one, and their purpose is to show a display of regime power. He said that it is likely that it will strengthen the resolve of the popular resistance movement.
According to Khin Zaw Win, a revolution is already underway in Myanmar that went beyond Suu Kyi, regardless of Tuesday's verdicts.
He said that they are trying to make sure she can no longer return to politics.
The military has still committed atrocities and continues to do so.