Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government said.
Suu Kyi, 78, has been detained by the Myanmar military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup.
Confirming her house arrest, Junta spokesperson, Major General Zaw Min Tun said: ‘Since the weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi … for all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working to protect them from heatstroke.’
Suu Kyi has been serving a 27-year prison term on a variety of criminal convictions, from treason and bribery to violations of the telecommunications law, which her supporters and rights groups say were fabricated for political reasons.
A nationwide conflict in Myanmar began after the army in 2021 ousted the elected government, imprisoned Suu Kyi, and began suppressing nonviolent protests seeking a return to democratic rule.
In February, her son Kim Aris said she was being held in solitary confinement and that she was in good spirits ‘even if her health is not as good as it was in the past’.
Aris has previously said how he wanted his mother to be returned to her home in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.
Last fall, he called the decision by the military leaders to keep his mother in prison while she is suffering from poor health ‘heinous’ in an interview with The Independent.
‘To hold someone illegally in prison, a move condemned by the outside world is compounded into further and heinous wrong when basic human rights are abrogated,’ he said.
World leaders and pro-democracy activists have repeatedly called for her release.
Her legal team is continuing to appeal to prove her innocence in the cases, as well as working on appeals for 14 others she faces.
A spokesperson for the NUG shadow government called for the unconditional release of Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, Myanmar’s ousted president, who has also been moved to house arrest according to media reports.
‘Moving them from prisons to houses is good, as houses are better than prisons. However, they must be unconditionally freed. They must take full responsibility for the health and security of Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint,’ spokesperson Kyaw Zaw said late on Tuesday.