Myanmar’s Suu Kyi charged with bribery as new trial opens

BANGKOK — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday in a new corruption case against her, alleging she took $550,000 in bribes from a construction magnate.

She is charged with two counts under the country’s the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.

Suu Kyi has been detained since the army ousted her elected government in February 2021 and has not been seen or allowed to speak in public since then. She is being tried in closed sessions and her lawyers cannot speak publicly on her behalf or about her trial because of a gag order placed on them.

She has already been sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment after being convicted of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and another corruption charge.

Suu Kyi’s supporters and human rights groups have said the cases against her are an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s seizure of power, eliminating the possibility of her taking part in a possible 2023 election.

But widespread resistance to the army’s takeover has resulted in what some United Nations experts have characterized as a civil war, challenging the military’s ability to govern.

In this latest case, she is accused of receiving money in 2019 and 2020 from Maung Weik, a tycoon who previously was convicted of drug trafficking.