The ongoing trial against state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi must be completed within 180 days, a judge in Naypyitaw declared on Monday.
Zabuthiri Township judge Maung Maung Lwin made the remark during Suu Kyi’s second in-person hearing since she and members of her cabinet were first charged on February 16.
Suu Kyi, who is 75, faces a total of six charges—five in Naypyitaw and one in Yangon—and a prison sentence of up to 26 years. She has been in military custody since her government was ousted from power in a coup on February 1.
The timeline announced on Monday applies to the cases being tried in Naypyitaw and means that the court there will have to issue its verdicts before the middle of August.
Monday’s hearing was held at an “exclusive court” specially designed for the trials of Suu Kyi and two other detained cabinet members—president Win Myint and Myo Aung, the chair of the Naypyitaw Council.
Starting next week, hearings will take place every Monday and Tuesday, with the court completing its questioning of the plaintiff by June 28, the judge said at the hearing.
Suu Kyi has been accused of incitement and violating the Official Secrets Act and the Telecommunications Law. She has also been charged with illegally importing walkie-talkies and faces two charges of breaching Covid-19 protocols during last year’s election campaign.
Hearings for the incitement case will take place every Monday together with Win Myint and Myo Aung, who are being tried for the same offence, according to lawyer Khin Maung Zaw, the head of her defence team.
Suu Kyi learned for the first time on Monday that the Supreme Court in Naypyitaw had taken over the case filed against her under the Official Secrets Act, her lawyer said.
That case, which also applies to three of her cabinet ministers and her economic advisor Sean Turnell, was originally filed at the Yangon Eastern District Court in late March.
The Supreme Court announced on May 31 that the next hearing in the case would be held on June 23. It also stated that the defendants would be representing themselves.
However, her lawyer said that these decisions were made without Suu Kyi’s consent.
“She said she didn’t know about the changes. She also didn’t say she would represent herself. She wants her lawyers to represent her in all of her cases,” Khin Maung Zaw told Myanmar Now.
Before the hour-long hearing, Suu Kyi met with her defence team for about 30 minutes, according to her lawyer.
During the meeting, he said, Suu Kyi asked for help in finding a way to meet expenses that she has incurred during her detention.
Suu Kyi has been detained at an undisclosed location together with eight other individuals and her pet dog Taichido, according to her defence team.
“She’s spending her own money, without anyone’s support, month by month. So she asked us to see how we can help with this,” said Khin Maung Zaw.
“The family living with her is running out of money. The military council has said they would provide her with the medicine she needs biweekly, but she doesn’t want that,” said Min Min Soe, another lawyer on her legal team.
The lawyers said they need to negotiate with the junta to provide an emergency budget for the detained state counsellor and those living with her.
Otherwise, they said, Suu Kyi seemed to be faring fairly well under the circumstances.
“She’s generally healthy,” said Khin Maung Zaw.
