The family of Myanmar’s ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had no contact with the Nobel Peace Prize winner since her imprisonment around three years ago, according to a press report on Sunday.
“In three and a half years, we have only received one letter from her, last January,” her son Kim Aris told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in an interview published on Sunday.
The army ousted and arrested Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s democratically elected de facto head of government, following a coup in February 2021. A court controlled by the military junta later sentenced her to a total of 33 years in prison for numerous alleged crimes.
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Detained former Myanmar leader’s son ‘extremely worried’ for her health
Aung San Suu Kyi: Detained former Myanmar leader’s son ‘extremely worried’ for her health
In 2023, the military junta reduced Suu Kyi’s sentence by six years. In April, she was transferred from prison in the capital Naypyidaw to another location. According to her son, the family has not been informed of her whereabouts.
Her two sons had heard that 78-year-old Suu Kyi was ill and suffering from severe toothache that prevented her from eating. They then sent her a parcel with medication.
“And in January, unbelievably, we received a letter signed by her,” said Aris.
In the letter, Suu Kyi thanked them for the medication, but wrote that she was still ill. According to Aris, the sons did not receive a reply to another parcel of medication.
Myanmar plunged into chaos and violence following the army’s takeover. The junta is coming under increasing pressure politically and also militarily, with rebel groups involved in violent resistance against its rule.