The ruling junta in Burma accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of further corruption, claiming that she received $ 550,000 in bribes from a businessman, state television reported.
On Wednesday evening, the MRTV channel broadcast a video of a real estate developer who confesses to having paid him this sum in several installments between 2018 and 2020. “According to this testimony, the authorities detected that Aung San Suu Kyi was found guilty of corruption and they are preparing to indict him, ”MRTV said.
These new allegations are “baseless and absurd,” the lawyer for the former de facto head of government, still held in solitary confinement by the army, told AFP on Thursday. My client has “maybe flaws, but bribing people is not in her nature … most Burmese won’t believe” these new accusations.
Arrested during the coup d’état of 1er February, the 75-year-old former leader has already been charged four times: for illegally importing walkie-talkies, failing to comply with coronavirus restrictions, violating a telecommunications law and inciting public unrest.
Last week, the army announced it was opening an investigation for corruption, initially accusing it of illegally collecting $ 600,000 and more than 11 kilos of gold.
If the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate is found guilty of the charges against her, she faces long years in prison and could be excluded from political life.
His party, the National League for Democracy (LND), won overwhelmingly the legislative elections in November.
Observers did not detect any major problems in the poll, but the putschist generals alleged “huge” frauds to justify their passage in force last month.
They seem more than ever determined to put an end to the pro-democracy protest which has since been blowing through the country.
More than 210 protesters were killed by security forces and nearly 2,200 people arrested.
Enforced disappearances, murders, torture: Thomas Andrews, the main independent expert appointed by the United Nations on this issue, denounced before the Human Rights Council in Geneva probable “crimes against humanity”.
Asked, the army did not respond to multiple requests from AFP.