NAYPYIDAW  –  Aung San Suu Kyi, the former leader of Myanmar who was ousted and detained by the military in a coup on 1 February 2021, has received a partial pardon from the junta. The pardon, announced today as part of a seasonal amnesty for more than 7,000 prisoners, will reduce her 33-year jail sentence by six years.

Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted of 19 charges, including incitement, electoral fraud and corruption, but five of them have been dropped. She still faces 14 more cases and remains in detention. The pardon has been widely criticized by human rights groups and western countries as meaningless and insufficient. They have called for her immediate and unconditional release, as well as an end to the violence and repression by the junta.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s trials have been held behind closed doors and without due process. Her lawyer has described the charges as absurd and politically motivated. The junta has struggled to quell the widespread opposition and resistance to its rule, which has resulted in thousands of deaths, arrests, and displacements.