Aung San Suu Kyi Moved to House Arrest
Axios (Tổng hợp từ Al Jazeera English)
Myanmar's former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, the military junta confirmed on April 24. The transfer comes during a mass amnesty for the Buddhist holiday, with her sentence reduced from 33 to 18 years. The UN welcomed the move as a step toward a credible political process.
On April 24, Myanmar state media reported that Aung San Suu Kyi, the former civilian leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, had been moved from detention to house arrest. The move comes more than five years after the military coup that toppled her elected government.
General Min Aung Hlaing, who ordered the 2021 coup, declared on April 24 that he had "reduced Suu Kyi's remaining prison sentence and allowed it to be served at a designated residence." The same day, state media released the first photo of Suu Kyi in years, showing her seated on a wooden chair flanked by two uniformed staff.
Earlier, the junta had announced a reduction of Suu Kyi's sentence as part of a mass amnesty for the Buddhist holiday. In addition to pardoning 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, the sentences of remaining inmates were reduced by one-sixth.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 on multiple charges that supporters and human rights groups say were intended to tarnish her reputation, legitimize the coup, and bar her from politics. With the second amnesty in several weeks, her sentence was reduced to 18 years, meaning she still has over 13 years to serve.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric welcomed the decision to place Suu Kyi under house arrest, calling it "a meaningful step toward a credible political process." He urged the swift release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi's lawyers confirmed to Reuters that they had not received direct notification and only learned of the move through news reports.
This is the second amnesty in two weeks, following the April 17 release of over 4,500 prisoners. Both amnesties came after General Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in on April 10 following an election widely criticized as unfair and staged to maintain military rule. In his inaugural speech, he said the government would grant amnesty to promote social reconciliation, justice, and peace.
Suu Kyi, now 80, had been serving her sentence at an undisclosed location in the capital Naypyitaw. Information about her health has been tightly controlled. Reports from 2024 and 2025 suggested she suffered from low blood pressure, dizziness, and heart problems, but these have not been independently verified. Since December 2022, her legal team has been denied in-person meetings.
The 2021 coup sparked widespread resistance, met with brutal crackdowns, leading to a bloody civil war that has killed thousands. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights monitoring group, 22,047 people have been detained in Myanmar since the coup.
Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010. Her steadfast opposition to military rule made her an icon of the nonviolent struggle for democracy.
