Mon 10 May 2021:
A judge on Monday (May 10) ordered Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to appear in person in court for the first time on May 24, her lawyer said, after weeks of delays in her case.
The Nobel laureate has not been publicly seen since she was detained in a Feb 1 coup, when the military ousted her from power and re-installed its rule.
The Irrawaddy opposition-aligned news outlet reported on Monday, citing lawyers.
All previous court hearings of Aung San Suu Kyi’s case, including the one on Monday, were held via teleconferencing.
According to the report, the next hearing will be held in the district court of Zayar Theikdi Ward, near the ousted state counselor’s Naypyitaw residence.
During the Monday hearing, Aung San Suu Kyi once again demanded a personal meeting with her lawyers, with whom she has not yet been able to discuss the defense, the news outlet said.
The Myanmar democracy icon was detained along with other top officials on February 1, when the military seized power after accusing her party of rigging the November elections.
Most of those detained have since been released, but Aung San Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint and a few other senior party leaders were placed under house arrest.
The 75-year-old former leader has been charged six times since her arrest.
The charges include flouting coronavirus restrictions during last year’s election campaign and possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies.
The most serious charge alleges that she violated the country’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act – a case that is pending in a court in commercial hub Yangon.
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