Suu Kyi convicted again, Australian economist gets 3 years

Bangkok, September 29

A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in another criminal case on Thursday and sentenced Australian economist Sean Turnell to three years in prison for violating an official secrets law, a legal official said.

Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence after being tried and convicted with Turnell under the secrets act, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to release information about the case.

Three members of Suu Kyi’s cabinet were also found guilty, each also receiving sentences of three years in prison.

Turnell, an associate professor in economics at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Suu Kyi, who was detained when her elected government was ousted by the army in 2021. He was arrested five days later while waiting for a car to take him to the airport.

The exact details of the offence have not been made public, though state television said last year that Turnell had access to “secret state financial information” and had tried to flee the country.

Turnell and Suu Kyi both denied the allegations in the case when they testified in their defence in August.

Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to 20 years in prison in other cases that are widely believed to be aimed at discrediting her and preventing her from returning to power.

All sessions of the trial were closed to the media and the public, and a gag order barred defence lawyers from revealing details.