Myanmar’s Suu Kyi gets more prison, hard labor for election fraud By Reuters – newsdubai

(Reuters) – Myanmar’s ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty of election fraud on Friday and sentenced by a judge to three years in prison with hard labor, according to a source familiar with the case.

The Nobel laureate and figurehead of Myanmar’s resistance to decades of military rule has been detained since a coup early last year and has already been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. She denies all the charges against her.

On Friday, she was convicted of fraud in a November 2020 general election, which her National League for Democracy (NLD) won with an overwhelming legislative majority, destroying a party created by the powerful military.

The source, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said it was unclear what the hard work would entail. Co-defendant Win Myint, the ousted president, received the same sentence, the source said.

A spokesman for the ruling military council did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The junta has said Suu Kyi will receive a fair trial.

The military took power in February 2021 to prevent Suu Kyi’s NLD from forming a new government after elections it said had cases of fraud that had not been properly investigated.

The NLD has denied fraud and said it won fairly.

Suu Kyi, 76, has been on trial for more than a year on multiple charges ranging from corruption and incitement to leaking official secrets, for which the combined maximum sentence is more than 190 years.

Her trials have been held behind closed doors in the capital, Naypyitaw, and the junta’s statements on the case have been limited. A gag order has been placed on Suu Kyi’s lawyers.