Nobel Peace Prize committee ‘concerned’ for Suu Kyi

Oslo: The Nobel Peace Prize committee on Monday said it was "concerned" for Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi after the junta sentenced her to prison.

"The Nobel Committee is concerned about what this means for the future of democracy in Myanmar. It is also concerned about the impact a long prison term may have on Aung San Suu Kyi personally," committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen told AFP in an email. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Peace Prize laureate, was sentenced to four years in prison for incitement against the military and flouting coronavirus rules, a sentence then cut to two years by the junta.

The Nobel Peace Prize committee condemned the trial as "not very credible" and "part of the military junta’s repression of the opposition in the country".

Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt also condemned the sentence and called for Suu Kyi’s "immediate release", in a post on Twitter. The 76-year-old leader has been detained since Myanmar generals staged a coup and ousted her government on February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country’s brief period of democracy.

She has since been hit with a series of charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud, and she faces decades in jail if convicted on all counts. "Aung San Suu Kyi has devoted her life to fighting for freedom and democracy in Myanmar and has held this difficult position for more than 30 years," the Nobel committee said.