Myanmar’s military regime has sentenced the female former bodyguard of detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison, her lawyer told The Irrawaddy.
Cherry Htet, a 30-year-old Myanmar Police second lieutenant, was charged with breaching police rules over her social media posts supporting the ousted leader. She was sentenced on December 30.
Her lawyer U Myint Thwin said: “The police court sentenced her to three years and sent her to Yamethin Prison the same day.” The lawyer said that he was unable to attend the sentencing in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw.
Suu Kyi’s former bodyguard had been held in Naypyitaw Prison since 23 September 2021, after first being put under surveillance following the junta’s February 2021 coup and then detained under house arrest in a building behind the police special branch office in Naypyitaw.
She was sent to Yamethin Prison in Mandalay Region as Naypyitaw’s jail doesn’t hold prisoners serving sentences of three years or more.
The officer is also facing a charge of incitement, which can carry a prison sentence of up to three years.
On March 14 2021, Cherry Htet was accused of posting: “We miss you Amay (mother)”, using the popular term in Myanmar for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She also allegedly posted another message on March 6 saying: “If you do not dare to be outspoken about justice, keep your mouth shut and do not say there is justice.”
The former bodyguard has also been accused of communicating with a National League for Democracy lawmaker and receiving information about the civilian National Unity Government.
Last July, Ko Zaw Naing Win, an aide to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was sentenced to seven years in prison for breach of trust by a civil servant for joining the Civil Disobedience Movement against the junta.
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