Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma’s democratically elected National League for Democracy, has today reached a total of 19 years in detention since 1989. She is currently under her fourth period of detention by the Burmese military, having most recently been arrested on 1st February 2021.
Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners are being illegally detained by the Burmese military and should be freed immediately. In every election Aung San Suu Kyi has won a huge mandate from the people. The Burmese military have never won a mandate, and they have no legitimacy.
Aung San Suu Kyi is one of more than 21,000 political prisoners currently detained by the Burmese military. The current number of political prisoners since the latest military coup began in 2021 is ten times higher than the average number of political prisoners during the previous military dictatorship prior to 2010.
Today’s briefing from Assistance Association Political Prisoners – Burma calculates that there are 21,507 political prisoners detained today. More than 28,000 have been arrested since the coup, including 589 children.
Political prisoners are subject to appalling treatment and conditions, including torture, sexual violence and denial of medical care.
In July 2024 the International Commission of Jurists released a report, Unseen and Unheard: Violations of the Human Rights of Women Deprived of Liberty in Myanmar, documenting violations of international law committed against women detainees. The report is available here.
Denial of medical care is resulting in the deaths of political prisoners. Most recently the Political Prisoners Network-Myanmar reported that political prisoner Myo Min Oo in Daik-U Prison, Bago Region, passed away on January 10 due to complications from untreated kidney stones.
Aung San Suu Kyi became a controversial figure internationally after she failed to defend human rights for the Rohingya when the upsurge in violence against them began in 2012. She then went on to defend the Burmese military at the International Court of Justice where a case of genocide against the Rohingya was being heard.
Aung San Suu Kyi also faced criticism domestically for failing to repeal almost all repressive laws and allowing them to be used to jail critics of the government and the military. Her government also violated international law, restricting humanitarian access in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin States where internally displaced people were in desperate need of aid following attacks by the Burmese military.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s own human rights record has reduced international support for the struggle for human rights and democracy in Burma, resulting in less attention on the country. Burma is in the midst of a human rights and humanitarian crisis since the 2021 coup. More than 4 million people are now displaced, airstrikes happen on a daily basis and a Burmese military aid and trade blockade in Rakhine State threatens a famine, with 2 million people at risk of starvation.
“The Burmese military detaining Aung San Suu Kyi for a total of 19 years demonstrates how, decades on, they are still afraid of her,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners must be freed, and much more done to cut off the supply of money and arms to the Burmese military.”
Note to editors:
Calculations of Aung San Suu Kyi’s total time in detention are based on her four periods in detention to date, taking into account leap years during those periods.
