Bid to prosecute Aung San Suu Kyi rejected

SYDNEY: Myanmar´s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has immunity from prosecution, Australia´s attorney general said Sunday after a legal bid was launched to hold her responsible for “crimes against humanity”.

A group of five Australian lawyers have filed a private application in the Melbourne Magistrates Court seeking to prosecute her over the treatment of the Muslim-minority Rohingya.It coincides with the Nobel laureate attending a special summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Sydney.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar´s troubled Rakhine state for Bangladesh since authorities launched a brutal crackdown six months ago that the UN has called “ethnic cleansing”. Myanmar has vehemently denied the allegations, insisting it was responding to attacks by Rohingya militants in late August. Attorney General Christian Porter said Suu Kyi cannot be prosecuted in Australia, nor arrested or detained. “Aung San Suu Kyi has complete immunity,” he said in a statement.