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Myanmar Supreme Court dismisses appeals of Aung San Suu Kyi corruption convictions – JURIST

The Supreme Court of Myanmar dismissed special motions for appeal Friday regarding former State Counsellor and democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s six corruption convictions, according to Bloomberg News and the Associated Press. Suu Kyi’s corruption convictions include violations of the Natural Disaster Management Law, the Communication Law and section 505(b) of the Myanmar Penal Code. Section 505(b) concerns defamation against the military and undermining the national order.In August, Myanmar’s military junta announced a partial pardon of Suu Kyi on five of those counts, reducing her 33-year sentence by 6 years. Suu Kyi’s specific charges have not been made readily available to the public by the Supreme Court. It is also unclear where exactly Suu Kyi is being detained. AP reported that the legal team representing the 78-year-old has attempted to meet with her to discuss the special appeals since January but were never allowed to do so.An anonymous legal official familiar with the case told AP News that Suu Kyi was accused of obtaining land at below-market prices in Yangon and Naypyidaw. The military junta reportedly claimed that although Suu Kyi obtained the land for a charitable organization, she used it to construct a personal residence. They also charged Suu Kyi with receiving campaign money from a convicted drug tycoon.After the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the appeals, Suu Kyi’s legal team may pursue a re-examination by Myanmar’s Special Appeals Tribunal or the Plenary Tribunal. The legal team will have to convince a chief justice on either of these courts that a re-examination of Suu Kyi’s appeals would be in the public interest.A Radio Free Asia source said that Suu Kyi’s health is declining in detention. Her requests for permission to seek treatment for “urgent” dental care have been ignored by the military junta. Suu Kyi founded the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 1990s. After an overwhelming election victory for NLD in 2020, the Myanmar military staged a coup and arrested Suu Kyi for alleged election fraud. In March 2023, the military junta dissolved NLD and 40 other opposition parties under a new Political Party Registration Law.