Junta authorities last week forced a lawyer representing Aung San Suu Kyi to sign a non-disclosure agreement, in an apparent bid to stop statements from the detained civilian leader reaching the public.
Police came to the Yangon home of one of the lawyers from Suu Kyi’s five-member defence team on Friday and forced them to sign a form promising not to talk to local or international media, a source familiar with the incident told Myanmar Now.
The lawyer was taken to a local General Administration Department office to sign the pledge, said the source, who is also a lawyer.
“The administrator accused the lawyer of having connections with the international community and forbade them to disclose any information to anyone. They were released shortly after,” the source said.
It is understood that the lawyer who signed the pledge was San Marlar Nyunt. Myanmar Now was unable to confirm if more than one of the lawyers was made to sign the same pledge.
Among Suu Kyi’s lawyers, Khin Maung Zaw, Min Min Soe and Thae Maung Maung live in Naypyitaw, while Kyi Win and San Marlar Nyunt live in Yangon.
Suu Kyi has now been in detention for more than six months and faces 11 separate charges that could see her sentenced to more than four decades in prison.
It is not known where she is being detained, but she has been allowed 30-minute meetings with her defence team ahead of court appearances at a Naypyitaw Council building in recent months.
Her lawyers have relayed several messages from her to the public following the meetings.
The court hearings were postponed at the start of July as a third wave of Covid-19 infections began sweeping the country.
