BANGKOK, December 6, Reuters - Myanmar's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced on Monday to four years in prison for incitement and breaching coronaviruses restrictions in a case her supporters called politically motivated.
President Win Myint was also sentenced to four years as the court handed down its first verdicts against the civilian leaders detained after a military coup on February 1.
Here are reactions to the news of the judgment:
This conviction is fooling no one, and it is part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population.
This conviction is part of a series of criminal offenses against humanity, perpetrated by the junta since February 1.
The junta should release the state counsellor and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. I don't expect anything out of this broken justice system. Since the coup, it's been clear that the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and the dozens of other detained MPs have been nothing more than an excuse by the junta to justify their illegal power grab.
The Myanmar people risk their lives every day to prove that this ridiculous ruling is a travesty of justice, despite this most recent attempt to demonstrate their power.
This sentencing shows that the Association of South East Asian Nations ASEAN must hold the line against this illegal takeover, for the sake of its own credibility and future.
We continue our call for ASEAN to ban all junta representatives from its meetings, to prevent junta generals from travelling in the region, and to engage with the duly-elected National Unity Government. The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges is another example of the military s determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar.
The court's farcical and corrupt decision is part of a series of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup in February.
Many detainees are without the profile of Aung San Suu Kyi, who are currently facing the terrifying prospect of years behind bars for peacefully exercising their human rights. They must not be forgotten and left to their fate. The coup did not result in the removal of Aung San Suu Kyi from politics, but it was the whole reason for the coup.
Many in the current generation of generals had come to the conclusion that the reformist ex-generals of 10 years ago had gone too far in their political liberalisations and had made a mistake in allowing her back on the political scene.
She remains the most popular figure in Myanmar politics and may still be a powerful force in what's to come.