Myanmar's military sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison on Friday, his lawyer said, the first high-ranking member of her party to be jailed by a junta court.
Win Htein, the National League for Democracy (NLD) patron, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a special tribunal in Dekkhina District Court, Nay Pyi Taw on October 29 for sedition under Section 124 A of the Penal Code, his lawyer told Mizzima.
His lawyer told Mizzima that he did not know exactly where Win Htein was being sent. At the time of this writing, Win Htein was currently in Nay Pyi Taw Prison.
“Win Htein, 80-year-old, is currently in good health,” his lawyer said.
According to sources close to Win Htein, the wheelchair-bound politician requires oxygen to help him breathe, and suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and heart and thyroid diseases.
According to the provisions of the Penal Code, Section 124 A is the incitement to hate and disrespect the State and the members of the Government either orally or in writing, or in other ways. This section carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Win Htein, who is considered to be one of the closest confidantes of NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi, is a patron and member of the Central Executive Committee of the NLD. He acted as an official spokesperson of the party.
Win Htein is the first high-ranking NLD member to be sentenced by the junta after a trial.
The former soldier is a longtime political prisoner who has spent long stretches of time in detention for campaigning against military rule.
Ahead of his arrest three days after the coup, he told local media the military putsch was "not wise", and that its leaders "have taken (the country) in the wrong direction".
The sentencing was "an indication that this regime does want to throw the book at these NLD leaders", including Suu Kyi, Richard Horsey of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
"They do want to portray them as having been traitorous, corrupt and so on. It's definitely not a good sign for others," he said, although he added it was possible the junta held a vendetta against former soldier Win Htein.
Aung San Suu Kyi faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for decades, from illegally importing walkie-talkies to flouting coronavirus rules.
She testified for the first time in a junta court on Tuesday, four months after being put on trial by the military.
Media have been barred from attending Aung San Suu Kyi's trial at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and the junta recently banned her legal team from speaking to reporters.
Before the ban, her lawyers said the Nobel laureate, 76, would not call any defence witnesses at her incitement trial and she will represent herself.
The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD and continues to wage a bloody campaign against opponents to its rule.
