SUU KYI APPEARS IN COURT, SAYS SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHERE SHE IS JAILED

Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in court in person on Monday, her first appearance since a coup on February 1, to face a charge of "incitement to sedition," Carola Frentzen reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The sedition charge is the most serious she faces, but she is also accused of violating a state secrets law and breaking coronavirus containment measures aside from purportedly purchasing walkie-talkies illegally.

Defense lawyer Thae Maung Maung said lawyers were able to meet with Suu Kyi separately before the hearing and they discussed the legal matter. The 75-year-old has been under house arrest since the coup. He told dpa that Suu Kyi was in good health.

Her lawyers added that Suu Kyi doesn't even know where she's living these days and has been cut off from all information.

"She doesn't know what is happening in Myanmar," they told dpa by phone. Her next court hearing is scheduled for June 7.

While Suu Kyi has answered questions in court by video link over recent weeks, her lawyers have been unable to meet her in person. A special courtroom had been set up for the hearing in the capital Naypyidaw, not far from Suu Kyi's home, lawyer Min Min Soe told dpa.

Nationwide protests against the coup have been met with fierce army reprisals that left hundreds of people dead.

In an interview published on Saturday by Chinese-language broadcaster Phoenix, Myanmar's military ruler, Min Aung Hlaing claimed the media had vastly overstated the number of dead, putting it at "around 300."

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group, at least 818 people have been killed so far, while more than 5,300 have been detained.

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