Myanmar's Suu Kyi testifies for first time in junta court

By AFP
27 October 2021
Myanmar's Suu Kyi testifies for first time in junta court
Chairperson of The National League for Democracy of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi smiles as she pays tribute at Rajghat,The Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on November 14, 2012. Suu Kyi is in India for a seven-day visit.  Photo: AFP

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi testified for the first time in a junta court on Tuesday, four months after being put on trial by the military, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February 1 coup, with nationwide protests and more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken into custody, and faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for decades.

On Tuesday she "gave her statement at the court by herself" in response to charges of incitement related to two February statements criticising the coup, the source said.

The contents of her testimony "cannot be revealed" until the court has certified them, the source said, adding this was expected next week.

Media have been barred from attending Suu Kyi's trial at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and the junta recently banned her legal team from speaking to the media.

Before the ban, her lawyers said the Nobel laureate, 76, will not call any defence witnesses at her incitement trial and will represent herself.