By AFP

Lawyers for Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday cross-examined security forces who detained the Nobel laureate during February’s coup and who allegedly found her in possession of illicit walkie talkies, a source said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals launched their coup exactly nine months ago, with more than 1,200 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.

Deposed civilian leader Suu Kyi went on trial in June, and testified for the first time last week as she mounted her defence against a raft of charges that could put her behind bars for decades.

Media have been barred from attending her trial at the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, and the junta recently banned her legal team from speaking to reporters.

Four soldiers and a policeman were cross-examined during the latest hearing in Suu Kyi’s trial for illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies, said a source with knowledge of the matter.

“All of them were in the force that raided Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence on the morning of the 1st February,” the source added, without giving details on their testimony.

Suu Kyi also testified on a separate charge that she broke coronavirus restrictions during 2020 elections that her National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide, the source said.

The ousted leader is also on trial for incitement, corruption and breaking the official secrets act, and must appear most weekdays at the junta courtroom.

Her legal team said last month the hectic schedule was taking a toll on the 76-year-old’s health.

The junta has threatened to dissolve the NLD and continues to wage a bloody campaign against opponents to its rule.

On Friday Win Htein, a former NLD parliamentarian and close aide of Suu Kyi, was handed 20 years in jail for treason, the first high-ranking member of the party to be jailed by a junta court.