Uncertainty continues to surround the condition and whereabouts of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, as her legal team confirms they have received no official communication regarding her transfer to a “designated residence.”
Despite the military junta’s announcement on 30 April that she had been moved from Naypyidaw Prison, her lawyers report that they remain barred from meeting her.
Individuals close to her legal team told Mizzima that there is currently no plan for a meeting, and the regime has failed to respond to repeated requests for access, which have been submitted consistently since January 2023.
A source close to the court said that any meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and her legal team can only happen if the military junta grants permission.
“It is impossible to see her. It has been an issue where access has been denied for a long time. This entirely depends on their (the military junta’s) permission, so no one can simply go and meet her on their own,” the source said.
Moreover, although the military junta announced on the night of April 30 that Aung San Suu Kyi had been transferred from Nay Pyi Taw Prison to a “designated house” to serve the remainder of her sentence, her legal team was not officially informed. According to the team, they do not even know where she is currently being held.
Meanwhile, Reuters, citing a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s legal team, reported that the lawyers were planning to visit her this coming Sunday. However, two court sources contacted by Mizzima rejected this claim.
The military junta has barred her legal team from meeting her since late 2022, following the delivery of verdicts in the cases filed against her after the coup.
Following the military coup, Aung San Suu Kyi was charged in 19 cases and sentenced to a total of 35 years in prison. Her sentence was later reduced by two years in December 2021 and by a further six years in August 2023, bringing it down to 27 years.
After additional reductions announced on 17 April and 30 April, her remaining sentence now stands at 18 years and nine months.
Meanwhile, her younger son, Ko Htein Lin (also known as Kim Aris), has said that his mother remains a “hostage” of the military junta and has called for proof that she is still alive.
