Myanmar Transfers Aung San Suu Kyi from Prison to House Arrest

Myanmar's military junta has transferred Aung San Suu Kyi from prison in Naypyidaw to house arrest on the order of Min Aung Hlaing, who was recently elected president in an election widely dismissed as a sham. The 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner had been imprisoned since 2021, when the military ousted the civilian government she led.

Myanmar state media broadcast the announcement accompanied by a photograph of Aung San Suu Kyi sitting on a bench flanked by men in uniform, the first public image of her released in years.

The military stated the transfer decision was made to celebrate Buddha Day, to show humanitarian concern, and to demonstrate the state's benevolence and goodwill. Aung San Suu Kyi was serving a 27-year sentence for a range of offences before her term was reduced by several years as part of a widespread pardon in April.

Dozens of parties were barred from running in the recent election, including the National League for Democracy, whose government under Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021.

Kim Aris, who last received a handwritten letter from Aung San Suu Kyi two years ago, said he had seen no evidence indicating she had been moved to house arrest. In that letter Aung San Suu Kyi conveyed that her cell was extremely hot in summer and very cold in winter. She said her spirit remains strong even if her health is not as good as it was in the past.

"We have heard of my mother being moved to house arrest on a number of occasions over the past five years, and none of them have proven to be true," Kim Aris said. " He added that he had been speaking to the British Foreign Office but no-one had been able to get any type of access to his mother.

Kim Aris said he had asked French President Emmanuel Macron and other governments to call for Myanmar to provide independently verified proof of life for Aung San Suu Kyi and to provide her with access to medical care, her lawyers and her family.

He maintains that his mother was locked up under false charges. "She should never have been in prison, so these aren't meaningful steps," he said. About the same period, Chit Thein, daughter of U Win Htein, began receiving congratulatory messages after friends heard rumours that her father was to be released.

U Win Htein is 84 years old, a close aide to Aung San Suu Kyi and a member of her National League for Democracy party. " Among those released from prison as part of a mass amnesty was Win Myint, who was serving as Myanmar's president until he was deposed in the military coup. More than 22,000 individuals who were jailed since the military takeover remain behind bars.

The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar stated that the junta is delivering half-measures aimed at placating ASEAN and the international community. The council described the move as one of the junta's unverified claims to have moved Aung San Suu Kyi to house arrest after years of solitary and incommunicado detention.

Chit Thein welcomed calls from the Philippines and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights for proof of life for Suu Kyi.

She worries about the slow fade of international attention and fears the world will legitimise the regime.