Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to three more years in prison, as a former UK ambassador to the country was separately also jailed.

The 77-year-old former leader has been in detention since February 2021 when the military seized power in Myanmar in a coup.

The ruling adds more jail time to the 17 years she is already serving for other offences. This includes accusations of being involved in election fraud.

Meanwhile, former UK ambassador to Myanmar Vicky Bowman and her husband Htein Lin were sentenced to one year in prison for breaching immigration laws.

Ms Bowman, who runs an organisation that promotes ethical business practices in Myanmar, and husband were arrested on 24 August for staying at an address different to the one she had registered under.

Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for campaigns, said news of their sentencing was extremely concerning.

“We have seen activists, artists, journalists, students, business owners, and medical professionals arbitrarily detained and jailed by the military on the slightest pretext,” she said.

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“Myanmar’s military has a notorious track record of arresting and jailing people on politically motivated or trumped-up charges.”

Ms Suu Kyi’s party won the 2020 general election in a landslide victory, but the military seized power from the elected government on 1 February 2021, saying it acted because of alleged widespread voter fraud.

Independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.

Read more: Aung San Suu Kyi – From symbol of human rights to fighting claims of genocide

Two senior members of Ms Suu Kyi’s former government were co-defendants in the case and also received three-year prison sentences.

Analysts say the numerous charges against her and her allies are an attempt to legitimise the military’s seizure of power while eliminating her from politics before the military holds an election it has promised for next year.

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