Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest, state media reported on Thursday, over five years after the country’s military ousted a civilian government led by the Nobel laureate and imprisoned her.
Suu Kyi, 80, has been detained by the junta since and her whereabouts have been unclear amid a deadly civil war that was triggered by the February 2021 coup that has engulfed much of the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
“… the remaining portion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence has been commuted to be served at a designated residence,” state-run MRTV reported, using an honorific for the veteran politician.
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State media also broadcast a photograph of Suu Kyi, seated on a wooden sofa and flanked by two uniformed personnel – the first public image of the Nobel laureate in years.
In a statement, her son Kim Aris said Thursday’s announcement by Myanmar authorities did little to dispel fears about her condition or even confirm that she was still alive.
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“I still do not know where my mother is. I do not know how she is. I remain deeply concerned about whether she is still alive,” he said. “If she is alive, I ask for proof of life.”
