Myanmar court sentences ex-politician to 173 years in prison

Sentence appears to be the longest jail term given to a former member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s overthrown government and party. A court in military-ruled Myanmar has handed a 148-year prison sentence to a former parliamentarian from the deposed National League for Democracy party, adding to a previous conviction which will now see Win Myint Hlaing, 52, spend a total of 173 years in prison. The sentence, which was handed down on Monday to Win Myint Hlaing after his conviction on terrorism charges, appeared to be the longest jail term given to any member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and NLD party since the military grabbed power in February 2021. On Monday, the court in Magway district, located about 480km north of the commercial capital, Yangon, found Win Myint Hlaing guilty of eight offences under the counterterrorism act and sentenced him to 148 years, a person familiar with the legal proceedings told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest. The military-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar media outlet reported last year that Win Myint Hlaing was in command of a local People’s Defence Force unit and had collected guns and explosives used in “terror acts to undermine the peace and stability of the State”.