Naypyidaw:
Myanmar’s spiralling coronavirus count struck the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday, her lawyers mentioned, with a witness for the prosecution failing to testify following becoming infected.
Cases are spiking in Myanmar, with the State Administration Council — as the military junta calls itself — reporting more than 3,400 new situations Sunday, up from fewer than 50 per day in early May.
Suu Kyi was deposed by the military in February, sparking a mass uprising and a brutal crackdown. More than 890 civilians have been killed by the junta’s forces, according to a regional monitoring group.
On Monday, a prosecution witness set to testify that she violated coronavirus restrictions for the duration of elections her party won in a landslide last year “was absent on account of COVID-19 infection”, her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters.
A second witness gave testimony on the similar charges, and the court also heard proof on separate charges that Suu Kyi illegally imported and possessed walkie talkies, he mentioned.
The Nobel laureate, 76, and all members of her employees have been totally vaccinated even though in military custody, her lawyer Min Min Soe told reporters last week.
She did not give information on when Suu Kyi — who is believed to have received a initial dose prior to her government was deposed — had received the jab, or what vaccine she was offered.
The ousted leader “voiced her grave concern for the people during the third wave of Covid-19” for the duration of Monday’s pre-trial meeting, Khin Maung Zaw mentioned.
Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint — who also faces charges of breaking COVID-19 restrictions — each appeared in superior overall health, he added.
Cut off from the outdoors world except for short meetings with her legal group and her court appearances, Suu Kyi faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for more than a decade.