Military-ruled Myanmar Sentences Former Leader to 5 Years
2022-04-28
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1A court in military-ruled Myanmar has found the country's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption.
2The court sentenced Suu Kyi to five years in prison Wednesday in the first of several corruption cases against her.
3Suu Kyi was ousted by an army takeover in February of last year.
4She has denied accusations that she had accepted gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars given to her as a bribe by a top political official.
5Both her supporters and independent legal experts consider her prosecution unjust.
6They believe it is an attempt to discredit Suu Kyi and legitimize the military's seizure of power.
7The court ruling also prevents the 76-year-old elected leader from returning to political office.
8Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, Myanmar's founding leader.
9She became famous in 1988 during a failed uprising against an earlier military government.
10She spent 15 of the next 21 years under house arrest for leading a nonviolent movement for democracy.
11The army permitted an election in 2015 in which her party won a large victory.
12She then became the leader of the country.
13However, Suu Kyi has also been criticized for ignoring human rights violations.
14She has defended a 2017 military campaign against Rohingya Muslims.
15Rights groups have called it genocide.
16She has already been sentenced to six years in prison in other cases.
17She faces 10 more corruption charges.
18The most severe punishment possible under the Anti-Corruption Act is 15 years in prison and a fine.
19If she is convicted in other cases, she could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.
20Moe Thuzar is with the Yusof Ishak Institute, a Southeast Asian studies center in Singapore.
21He said the charges are only believable to the court and the military's supporters.
22"Even if there were any legitimate concerns or complaints about corruption...enforced military rule (is) certainly not the way to pursue such concerns."
23Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a large victory in the 2020 general election.
24But the army seized power on February 1, 2021.
25The military arrested Suu Kyi and many officials in her party and government.
26The army said it took power because there had been widespread fraud in the election.
27But independent election observers said they did not find any major evidence of fraud.
28Afterwards, there were large protests nationwide, which security forces crushed.
29The rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said the campaign led to the deaths of almost 1,800 civilians.
30Now some United Nations experts say the country is in a state of civil war.
31In an earlier case, Suu Kyi was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally importing and owning mobile communications devices.
32She has also been found guilty of violating coronavirus restrictions and sedition.
33In the case decided Wednesday, she was accused of receiving $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon.
34That is the country's biggest city.
35The chief minster was also a top member of her political party.
36Her lawyers denied all charges he made against her.
37The nine other cases are currently being tried under the Anti-Corruption Act.
38They include several related to the purchase of an aircraft by one of Suu Kyi's former Cabinet members.
39Suu Kyi is also being tried on a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act and on a charge claiming election fraud.
40Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
41He said: "Destroying popular democracy in Myanmar also means getting rid of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the junta is leaving nothing to chance."
42I'm Dan Novak.
1A court in military-ruled Myanmar has found the country's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption. 2The court sentenced Suu Kyi to five years in prison Wednesday in the first of several corruption cases against her. 3Suu Kyi was ousted by an army takeover in February of last year. She has denied accusations that she had accepted gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars given to her as a bribe by a top political official. 4Both her supporters and independent legal experts consider her prosecution unjust. They believe it is an attempt to discredit Suu Kyi and legitimize the military's seizure of power. The court ruling also prevents the 76-year-old elected leader from returning to political office. 5Suu Kyi is the daughter of Aung San, Myanmar's founding leader. She became famous in 1988 during a failed uprising against an earlier military government. She spent 15 of the next 21 years under house arrest for leading a nonviolent movement for democracy. 6The army permitted an election in 2015 in which her party won a large victory. She then became the leader of the country. 7However, Suu Kyi has also been criticized for ignoring human rights violations. She has defended a 2017 military campaign against Rohingya Muslims. Rights groups have called it genocide. 8She has already been sentenced to six years in prison in other cases. She faces 10 more corruption charges. The most severe punishment possible under the Anti-Corruption Act is 15 years in prison and a fine. If she is convicted in other cases, she could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. 9Moe Thuzar is with the Yusof Ishak Institute, a Southeast Asian studies center in Singapore. He said the charges are only believable to the court and the military's supporters. 10"Even if there were any legitimate concerns or complaints about corruption...enforced military rule (is) certainly not the way to pursue such concerns." 11Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a large victory in the 2020 general election. But the army seized power on February 1, 2021. The military arrested Suu Kyi and many officials in her party and government. The army said it took power because there had been widespread fraud in the election. But independent election observers said they did not find any major evidence of fraud. 12Afterwards, there were large protests nationwide, which security forces crushed. The rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said the campaign led to the deaths of almost 1,800 civilians. Now some United Nations experts say the country is in a state of civil war. 13In an earlier case, Suu Kyi was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally importing and owning mobile communications devices. She has also been found guilty of violating coronavirus restrictions and sedition. 14In the case decided Wednesday, she was accused of receiving $600,000 and seven gold bars from the former chief minister of Yangon. That is the country's biggest city. The chief minster was also a top member of her political party. Her lawyers denied all charges he made against her. 15The nine other cases are currently being tried under the Anti-Corruption Act. They include several related to the purchase of an aircraft by one of Suu Kyi's former Cabinet members. 16Suu Kyi is also being tried on a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act and on a charge claiming election fraud. 17Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. He said: "Destroying popular democracy in Myanmar also means getting rid of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the junta is leaving nothing to chance." 18I'm Dan Novak. 19Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 20________________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22bribe - v. to give something valuable, like money, to an official in order to get them to do something that is dishonest or illegal 23prosecution - n. the act or process of trying someone in a court of law to see if they are guilty of a crime they are charged with 24legitimize - v. to make something acceptable, real or official 25convict - n. to prove someone is guilty of a crime in a court of law 26pursue - v. to make an effort to find out more about an issue or to do something about it 27fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person 28sedition -n. the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government 29junta - n. a group of military officers who control a government after taking control of it by force