By Spy Uganda Correspondent
A military-run court in Myanmar has sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to a further three years in prison on election fraud charges, her lawyers have told the press.
Ms Suu Kyi, the country’s former leader has now been sentenced to 20 years in prison on 11 counts, with several charges remaining.
She denies all of the accusations, and the trials have been condemned by rights groups as politically-motivated.
If convicted on all charges, she could face almost 200 years in prison.
The new sentence included hard labour, her lawyers said. The 76-year-old Nobel laureate has spent most of her time in detention under house arrest in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The public and media have had no access to the closed-door hearings and the military has prevented her lawyers from speaking to journalists.
The court found her guilty of committing fraud in the November 2020 general election, which her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won overwhelmingly.
The army launched a coup last year after alleging there had been massive voter fraud in the vote, but independent election observers said the poll was “representative of the will of the people”.
Civil rights and democracy groups have denounced the legal proceedings against Ms Suu Kyi and others as a farce. The UN has said she is facing a “sham trial”. Myanmar’s military regime says Ms Suu Kyi’s trials are part of the legal process.
The military’s violent seizure of power last February triggered widespread demonstrations, prompting Myanmar’s military to crack down on pro-democracy protesters, activists and journalists.
Ms Suu Kyi and many members of her party – are among more than 15,000 people who have been arrested by the junta since they seized power – 12,000 remain in prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
