Myanmar ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved to house arrest, military says

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been in detention since she was ousted in a military coup in 2021. Myanmar ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved to house arrest, military says Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. South East Asia correspondent, in Bangkok State TV broadcast a picture of the Nobel laureate in confinement Aung San Suu Kyi, an elderly woman sitting on a bench with her arm on the rest. In the foreground two uniformed men sit either side of her at a table. The detained former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest, the country's state media has reported. The 80-year-old Nobel laureate has been held in detention - probably in a military prison in the capital Nay Pyi Taw - since she was removed from office in a military coup in 2021. A statement by military leader Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, said he had "commuted her remaining sentence to be served at the designated residence". Aung San Suu Kyi came to power in 2015 after Myanmar's then rulers introduced democratic reforms. Before that, she spent decades of military rule as a pro-democracy activist, and was previously held for more than 15 years under house arrest. State media broadcast a picture of her sitting with two uniformed personnel. Her son Kim Aris said he was sceptical about the announcement and that he did not even have proof that she was alive. He said the picture was "meaningless" as it was taken in 2022. "I hope this is true. I still haven't seen any real evidence to show that she has been moved," he told the BBC. "So, until I'm allowed communication with her, or somebody can independently verify her condition and her whereabouts, then I won't believe anything." A picture of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as Myanmar migrants living in Thailand hold hands during a memorial in Bangkok on March 4, 2021 to honour those who died during demonstrations against the military coup in their homeland. From behind bars, Aung San Suu Kyi casts a long shadow over Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi carries flowers as she visits a polling station in Kawhmu township, Burma, 1 April 2012 Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace Prior to the announcement, nothing was known about her health or living conditions, and Kim Aris said in December he had not heard from her in years. Her legal team told Reuters they had had no direct notification about her house arrest. Little has been seen - and nothing heard - from Aung San Suu Kyi since she was arrested on the day the armed forces ousted her elected government more than five years ago. Her lawyers have not seen her for more than three years; her family has had no contact with her for more than two. The only image of her seen before Thursday was at a court appearance in May 2021, at the start of a series of trials by the military on charges which have been widely dismissed as fabricated. Since then, her 33-year sentence has been reduced several times. Her sudden appearance in state media suggests the military authorities may be preparing for further changes in her status - possibly her partial or complete release. The coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is eager to end his regime's international isolation, and appears more confident after a string of battlefield wins against armed opposition groups. The military junta also held an election earlier this year restoring a notionally democratic government, but which leaves the same military leaders in charge. During her earlier confinement, Aung San Suu Kyi's dignified, non-violent resistance won her admirers across Myanmar and around the world, and she famously made speeches to supporters from her family home. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. During her earlier confinement, Aung San Suu Kyi's dignified, non-violent resistance won her admirers across Myanmar and around the world, and she famously made speeches to supporters from her family home. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. But her decision to lead Myanmar's defence against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice over the military's atrocities against Muslim Rohingyas in 2017 badly tarnished her saint-like international image. The UN said "credible sources" had counted more than 400 strikes in the same period. The democracy campaigner has spent 20 years in total in detention, five of them since being overthrown by a coup. Observers say the vote, accompanied by a renewed crackdown on dissent, is meant to entrench the junta's power. The trawler "reportedly sank due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding", the United Nations said. Asia relies heavily on oil and gas from the Gulf, and shortages and higher prices are starting to bite. General Min Aung Hlaing has been chosen as the next president by the newly-elected parliament. Min Aung Hlaing presided over his last military parade in Myanmar before he takes up the role of president. Drivers are queuing for hours at petrol stations in Myanmar as the Iran war continues to send shockwaves across the globe.