PHNOM PENH, May 1 — Myanmar’s veteran politician Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to house arrest on Thursday after spending nearly five years in isolated detention.
The government announced the decision on humanitarian grounds, in conjunction with the Buddha Day celebration in Myanmar, which fell on the full moon day of Kason yesterday.
She has now been moved from a prison in the nation’s capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and placed under house arrest.
“The President of Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, has granted that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently serving her sentence in Nay Pyi Taw Prison, will serve the remainder of her term at a designated residence,” reported state media The Global New Light of Myanmar today.
The government also granted amnesty to 1,519 prisoners on Thursday, including 11 foreign nationals serving sentences in prisons, detention centres and camps.
Suu Kyi, the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and mother of two, was initially jailed for 33 years following the military coup in February 2021.
Earlier this month, Min Aung Hlaing reduced her sentence by one-sixth. She is expected to serve another 13 years in detention.
A raft of allegations were slapped on the leader, including corruption, violations of telecommunications laws, and treason, according to media reports.
The Oxford graduate has spent years trying to transform Myanmar’s complex political landscape into a modern democracy. She spent most of her career of almost 20 years either in prison or under house arrest.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her struggle for democracy and human rights activities.
According to the Nobel Prize website, Suu Kyi announced that she would use the US$1.3 million (RM5 million) prize money to establish a health and education trust in Myanmar.
She was married to a British scholar Michael Aris, who passed away in 1999.
