Myanmar junta jails Suu Kyi for 6 more years for corruption: source

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 17, 2017, Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi leaves after attending the funeral service for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s former chairman Aung Shwe in Yangon.  (Photo by AFP)

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP |

Myanmar’s junta sentenced ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday to another six years in prison for corruption, a source with knowledge of the case said, taking the Nobel laureate’s total jail time to 26 years.

Suu Kyi “was sentenced to three years imprisonment each for two corruption cases” in which she had been accused of taking bribes from a businessman, the source said, adding that the terms would be served concurrently.

Detained since the putsch last year, Suu Kyi has already been convicted of corruption and a clutch of other charges by a closed junta court.

In the latest case, the Nobel laureate — who has been in military custody since the night of the coup — was accused of taking bribes of $550,000 from businessman Maung Weik.

Suu Kyi appeared in good health and would appeal, the source added.

Journalists have been barred from attending the court hearings and Suu Kyi’s lawyers have been banned from speaking to the media.

More than 2,300 people have been killed and over 15,000 arrested in the military’s crackdown on dissent since seizing power, according to a local monitoring group.