Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, is moved to house arrest over heatstroke fears – three years after she was locked up in prison following military coup

Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest, a military government spokesman said.

Suu Kyi, 78, has been held — sometimes in solitary confinement — by Myanmar’s military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup.

“As the weather is extremely hot, this does not only apply to Aung San Suu Kyi… For anyone who needs the necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working to protect them from heatstroke,” said junta spokesman General Major Zaw Min Tun said in comments reported by local media.

She faces up to 27 years in prison for crimes ranging from treason and bribery to violations of the telecommunications law, charges she denies.

General Min Aung Hlaing, leader of the junta, has ruled Myanmar since Suu Kyi’s ouster and arrest in February 2021

In February, her son Kim Aris said she was in solitary confinement and that she was in good spirits “even though her health is not as good as in the past.”

Aris has previously said he wanted his mother to return to her home in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.

Last fall, he called the military leaders’ decision to keep his mother in prison while she suffers ill health “appalling” in an interview with The independent.

“Keeping someone in prison illegally, an act condemned by the outside world, is compounded into further and heinous abuses when basic human rights are abolished,” he said.

World leaders and pro-democracy activists have repeatedly called for her release.

In February, her youngest son Kim Aris, 46, seen here, said she was in solitary confinement and that she was in good spirits “even though her health is not as good as in the past.”

Myanmar’s military says Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest as a health measure due to a heat wave in the country

Her legal team continues to appeal to prove her innocence in the cases, and is also working on the appeals for fourteen others she faces.

A spokesperson for the NGG shadow government called for the unconditional release of Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, Myanmar’s deposed president, who has also been placed under house arrest, according to media reports.

“It’s good to move them from prisons to homes because homes are better than prisons. However, they should be released unconditionally. They must take full responsibility for the health and safety of Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint,” spokesman Kyaw Zaw said late on Tuesday.

General Min Aung Hlaing, leader of the junta, has ruled Myanmar since Suu Kyi’s ouster and arrest in the February 2021 coup.