Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned for hearings in a junta court Thursday after being quarantined when Covid-19 was detected among her staff, a source with knowledge of her case said.

The 76-year-old's civilian government was removed in a coup last year that triggered mass protests, and she faces a raft of charges that could see her sentenced to more than 150 years in jail.

Currently on trial for alleged corruption, breaching Myanmar's official secrets act and pressuring the election commission, Suu Kyi was placed in quarantine last week after Covid was found among her staff.

On Thursday she "appeared before the district judge" for her official secrets act trial in a special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, said a source with knowledge of the matter.

Suu Kyi is accused along with Australian economist Sean Turnell, who was arrested in the days following the coup last February.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Suu Kyi and her personal staff have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 since being taken into military custody, her lawyer told AFP last July.

She missed a hearing in September due to illness, and in October her lawyer said her health had suffered during her frequent appearances before the junta-run court.

Journalists are barred from the proceedings and her lawyers have been banned from speaking to the press.

Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to a total of six years in jail for incitement against the military, breaching Covid-19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law -- although she remains under house arrest while she fights other charges.

Myanmar junta FM on 'work trip' to major ally China
Yangon (AFP) March 31, 2022 - Myanmar's junta-appointed foreign minister has travelled to China at the invitation of Beijing's foreign minister, the military said on Thursday, a rare trip abroad for the isolated military government.

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since a coup last year ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's administration and sparked mass democracy protests and a deadly crackdown.

Foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin left Myanmar on Thursday morning for a "work trip" to China at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the junta's information team said in a statement late Thursday.

It gave no details on his destination in China or how long the trip was scheduled to last.

China is a major ally of the junta and has refused to label the military's power grab a coup.

The junta is increasingly isolated on the international stage, with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen the only foreign leader to visit since the putsch.

Last month Wunna Maung Lwin was barred from attending a foreign minister's retreat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc over a lack of progress in defusing post-coup violence.

But clashes have continued, with anti-junta groups battling regularly with the military.

On Sunday junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said the military will "annihilate" coup opponents, as security forces staged a show of force on the anniversary of its bloodiest crackdown so far on democracy protests.

More than 1,700 people have been killed in a military crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

In February a UN expert on Myanmar said Russia -- along with other major ally China -- was continuing to supply the military with weapons, including fighter jets and armoured vehicles.

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

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