Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi returned to court on Tuesday, a day after she did not appear because she was unwell, seeming relieved but saying she was still “somewhat dizzy”, her lawyer said.
The health of 76-year-old Suu Kyi is closely watched in Myanmar, where she spent many years in detention for challenging its military governments. She is on trial over multiple charges since her overthrow in a 1st February coup.
Then-Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech to the nation over Rakhine and Rohingya situation, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on 19th September, 2017. PICTURE: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun/File photo.
Suu Kyi could not appear on Monday due to dizziness and drowsiness that her legal team said was caused by motion sickness while being driven to court from the undisclosed location where she is being held.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi seemed quite relieved, but she said she was still somewhat dizzy,” chief lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said by text message, referring to her by a Myanmar honorific.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner is charged with a litany of offences, including breaking coronavirus protocols, illegally possessing two-way radios, accepting bribes of cash and gold, incitement to cause public alarm and violating the Official Secrets Act.
Her lawyers have rejected the accusations.
The cases are being handled by courts in Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw, which some of her allies fear could tie her up in legal proceedings for years.
The court was scheduled to proceed with two cases on Tuesday, the second of which was adjourned after prosecution witnesses failed to appear.
Myanmar has suffered political and economic paralysis since Suu Kyi’s elected government was toppled, sparkling a nationwide backlash, with protests and violence in the countryside and in its biggest cities.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis have made little progress. Many of Suu Kyi’s loyalists have fled or have been arrested or joined a shadow government of junta opponents that has called for a revolt.
