Myanmar's deposed leader Suu Kyi to face new trial for poll fraud

The Nobel laureate is facing a raft of charges - including violating the country’s official secrets laws - and if convicted of all of them could face sentences tallying more than 100 years in prison.

Myanmar’s junta has charged Aung San Suu Kyi with influencing election officials during 2020 polls, a source said on Monday, a year after it staged a coup alleging massive voter fraud. Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the February 1 coup last year that triggered protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent with nearly 1,500 civilians killed, according to a local monitoring group.

Suu Kyi, 76, has been detained since the February 1 coup last year. (AFP)

The Nobel laureate is facing a raft of charges - including violating the country’s official secrets laws - and if convicted of all of them could face sentences tallying more than 100 years in prison.

She will face a further trial on charges of influencing the country’s election commission during the 2020 polls that saw her party defeat a military-aligned rival, a source with knowledge of the case said. The case will be wrapped up within six months, the source added.

Former president and stalwart of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party Win Myint will face the same charge, the source said.

Several senior members of the national electoral commission have also been arrested since the coup, accused of masterminding the NLD’s landslide victory. The junta cancelled the results of the 2020 election in July last year, saying it had found some 11.3mn instances of fraud.

Meanwhile, the US on Monday imposed sanctions on seven individuals and two entities connected to Myanmar, the US Treasury said on its website.