SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Suu Kyi lawyer rejects military graft claims as 'groundless'
Yangon, March 12 (AFP) Mar 12, 2021
Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer on Friday rejected junta allegations of corruption against Myanmar's deposed civilian leader as "groundless", calling it "illegal mudslinging" by the generals who seized power from her.

The country has been in uproar since a February 1 putsch that saw Suu Kyi ousted, detained and accused of several criminal charges including owning unlicensed walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions.

On Thursday, a junta spokesman made new corruption accusations against her, saying a now-detained chief minister had admitted giving her $600,000 and more than 10 kilograms of gold.

"This allegation against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the state counsellor, is groundless, especially regarding the dollars and gold bars -- it is the most hilarious joke of all," her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP.

"I've never seen such an illegal mudslinging."

The veteran human rights lawyer -- who in the past went up against Suu Kyi's administration in defending two journalists reporting on the Rohingya crisis -- said he has his differences with her.

"She may have her defects but bribery and corruption aren't her traits," he said.

The Nobel laureate has also been accused of violating a communications law and of intent to incite public unrest.

A hearing is scheduled for March 15, but so far Khin Maung Zaw has not been able to have a private meeting with his client.

"I'm frustrated because my client is not given the rights of defence and the rights of a fair trial," he said, adding that he is nonetheless preparing for Monday's hearing.

"I'm not worried about these four cases (charges) but other allegations could occur and other cases could pile up, resulting in false charges and false accusations," he told AFP.

Since she was detained on February 1, Suu Kyi has not been seen in public.

The junta has justified its power grab citing electoral fraud in November elections that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won by a landslide.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Perseverance rover cleared for long distance Mars exploration
Origami style lunar rover wheel expands to climb steep caves
How to pick the right web testing framework for your project

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Conventional photon entanglement reveals thousands of hidden topologies in high dimensions
Bilayer tin oxide layer boosts back contact perovskite solar cell efficiency and stability
Brain like chips could cut AI power demand

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Rocket Lab advances US Space Force mission with early STP S30 launch
BlackSky accelerates Gen-3 satellite into full commercial service in three weeks
Leonardo DRS space radio completes first secure on orbit data transport test

24/7 News Coverage
Deep ocean quakes linked to Antarctic phytoplankton surges
Ocean warming drove past Greenland ice stream retreat
Insect radar survey finds vast summer air traffic above United States



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.