Aung San Suu Kyi’s court hearing postponed twice due to lack of internet

A video hearing scheduled on Wednesday for two members of Myanmar’s ousted leadership– State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint– was postponed until April 1 due to a lack of internet service at the Naypyitaw court, a member of the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) legal team said.

At the time of reporting, the military regime had cut off all mobile data and some Wi-Fi services nationwide in an effort to curb activities of and communication by opponents of the coup. 

The last court hearings for Suu Kyi and Win Myint were scheduled for March 15, and were postponed until Wednesday for the same reason: no internet. 

Four charges have been brought by the military regime against Suu Kyi, including incitement, using unlicensed walkie-talkies, and breaching public health restrictions during the 2020 election campaign period.

The 75-year-old chair of the NLD stands accused of illegally importing walkie-talkies in violation of the Export and Import Law, and of breaching the Natural Disaster Management Law for defying regulations aimed at curbing Covid-19 while campaigning in the election—the same charge filed against detained ally President Win Myint.

The third charge falls under Section 505b of the penal code, which makes it illegal to issue “any statement, rumour or report” likely to induce members of the public to “commit an offence against the state.” It is punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. Deposed President Win Myint is also accused of violating the same charge.

The fourth charge is for an alleged violation of the Telecommunication Law’s Section 67 for possessing or using any restricted communication equipment that requires a license. It carries a maximum one-year prison term. 

The telecommunications charge is believed to be derived from the allegations over walkie-talkies which the military junta claimed were found when they searched Suu Kyi’s house on February 1.

On March 17, the military council announced that it was also bringing corruption charges against her. It has also televised testimonies of notorious businessman Maung Weik and ousted Yangon chief minister Phyo Min Thein implicating Suu Kyi in scandal.

Maung Weik said in a video that he gave Suu Kyi more than US$550,000 in cash-filled envelopes on the four occasions he met her between 2018 and 2020. 

The coup regime released a video of Phyo Min Thein, in which he claimed he had given Suu Kyi $600,000 and more than 11 kilograms of gold. The video has been scrutinised by netizens who have questioned whether it is genuine. 

Lawyer Min Min Soe said that corruption charges had not been formally filed against the State Counsellor at the time of reporting. She added that the NLD’s legal team has not been allowed to meet with Suu Kyi.

Win Myint, who was a lawyer before becoming President of Myanmar under the NLD administration in March 2018, had told the court that he would carry out his own legal defence, according to the NLD’s legal team members.