Watchdog Calls Myanmar's Sentence For Deposed Leader 'Unbridled Destruction Of Freedoms'

The four-year sentence that a court in Myanmar handed to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of inciting public unrest and violating COVID-19 regulations is an "unbridled destruction of freedoms" and the latest example of crackdown on dissent, an international rights watchdog said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2021) The four-year sentence that a court in Myanmar handed to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of inciting public unrest and violating COVID-19 regulations is an "unbridled destruction of freedoms" and the latest example of crackdown on dissent, an international rights watchdog said on Monday.

"The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges are the latest example of the military`s determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar. The court`s farcical and corrupt decision is part of a devastating pattern of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup in February," Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said.

Ming Yu Hah also said that that the situation in Myanmar was alarming in the extreme.

Violence escalation and humanitarian crisis with tens of thousands displaced people amid the ongoing pandemic would only get worse without a decisive international response.

Mass protests, shooting in border regions, and strikes that have caused severe damage to the economy, swept Myanmar after the military seized power and arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

On April 24, the ASEAN held an emergency summit on Myanmar in Jakarta, reaching a Five-Point Consensus on immediate cessation of violence, dialogue establishment, and humanitarian assistance. The consensus proved to be fruitless as the military continued to crack down on civilian protests. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma, the military has killed more than 1,300 people and arrested more than 10,000.