Myanmar junta postpones Suu Kyi's court date again
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta again postponed court proceedings against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday (April 26), her lawyers have said, as they fight for permission to visit her 12 weeks after she was detained.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted the Nobel laureate in a Feb 1 coup, shunting the country back into junta rule after a brief experiment with democracy.
Large swathes of the population have taken to the streets in protest, with security forces unleashing a brutal campaign to quell the massive uprising.
Meanwhile, Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest, with the junta charging her over six cases – including for sedition and having unlicensed walkie-talkies.
But movement on her case was once again delayed, until May 10, her lawyer Min Min Soe said on Monday after a hearing.
Twelve weeks after Ms Suu Kyi was detained, Ms Min Min Soe said they still have not received permission to meet their client face-to-face – one of many hurdles the team of lawyers have faced.
“When the judge asked (police) which stage they have reached, they replied they couldn’t tell specifically,” she told Agence France-Presse, adding that Ms Suu Kyi is frustrated by the slow pace.
“I think she is not getting access to watch news and TV. I do not think she knows the current situation happening in the country,” she said.
Besides not being able to meet Ms Suu Kyi, junta-imposed mobile data shutdowns have also prevented videoconferencing in previous hearings.
The most serious charge Ms Suu Kyi faces falls under Myanmar’s official secrets law, with a hearing due in Yangon on May 6.
Nationwide protests continued on Monday, with demonstrators holding signs that said “Free our leaders” and waving red flags emblazoned with a golden peacock – the symbol of Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
The junta has justified its power grab by claiming it is protecting democracy, alleging electoral fraud in the November elections which the NLD won by a landslide.
Since the coup, security forces have killed more than 750 people, according to a local monitoring group.
The junta has given a much lower death toll and blames the violence on “rioters”.
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