Myanmar police file charges against Aung San Suu Kyi for violating import-export law: document
- Police have accused Aung San Suu Kyi of breaching an import-export law, and sought her detention until February 15
- Toppled President Win Myint was also charged with offences under the Natural Disaster Management law, a police document said
Myanmar’s army seized power on Monday, detaining Suu Kyi and cutting short a transition to democracy in a takeover that has drawn condemnation from the United States and other Western countries.
A police request to a court detailing the accusations against 75-year-old Suu Kyi said walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in the capital, Naypyidaw. It said the radios were imported illegally and used without permission, violating the country’s import-export law.
The document reviewed on Wednesday requested Suu Kyi’s detention “in order to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant”.
The charges against Suu Kyi appear to carry a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The charge sheets indicate the unregistered walkie-talkies were for use by Suu Kyi’s bodyguards.
“We have got reliable information that Dakhinathiri court has given a 14-day remand from February 1 to February 15 against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under the charge of violating the import/export law,” Kyi Toe, the press officer of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, wrote on his official Facebook page.
A separate document showed ousted President Win Myint was charged for breaching the Disaster Management Law over an election campaign rally that police say violated Covid-19 restrictions.
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