Myanmar’s Suu Kyi asks for meeting with lawyers

Myanmar’s detained leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted by the military, has again demanded a face-to-face meeting with her lawyers at a second online court hearing in April.

“The six cases which Aung San Suu Kyi is facing were not heard today.

“She repeated her request on meeting with lawyers in person,” Khin Maung Zaw, head of Suu Kyi’s legal team, told dpa on Monday.

A decision on the request had not yet been made, he said.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since Myanmar’s military ousted the democratically elected government on February 1.

“It is the fundamental right of an accused to meet his/her lawyer and give instructions privately,’’ Suu Kyi’s defence team said.

The team said it had applied for such a meeting early on, but the court still had not agreed to one.

The judiciary accuses the 75-year-old woman of several offences, including violations of foreign trade laws in connection with radio equipment found in her house as well as violation of Coronavirus restrictions.

The most serious charge so far is that of incitement to sedition.

“Aung San Suu Kyi looks healthy but she seems to have lost weight.

Both she and our team did not discuss anything except the legal cases,” Khin Maung Zaw said after the hearing.

The ousted leader hasn’t been seen in public since the February coup, which has sparked a wave of protests in the country, in spite of a violent crackdown from the military.

Demonstrators took to the streets again in Yangon and Mandalay on Monday.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 751 people have been killed so far, while over 3,400 are currently in detention.