Myanmar authorities filed a second charge against the country’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Suu Kyi was arrested on February 1 when the Myanmar army staged a coup against her civilian government.
What is the new position?
Suu Kyi now faces one charge of violating a section of Myanmar’s Natural Disaster Law, Khin Maung Zaw told local media.
Although no further details on the charge were immediately available, the breach has been used to prosecute those who have violated coronavirus restrictions.
The charge may allow her to be detained indefinitely without a trial, due to changes to the country’s Penal Code that the board implemented last week.
The rule change allows suspects to be detained without court permission in certain cases, according to the Associated Press.
Suu Kyi has already been charged under the country’s import and export laws for having walkie talkies in her home that were imported without being registered.
What did the military say?
Lawyers for Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party have said they have been unable to contact her since she was detained.
Facing continued protests against the coup and calls for Suu Kyi’s release, the Myanmar military said Tuesday that she was “in good health”.
“It’s not like they’ve been arrested, they are staying at home,” said military spokesman Zaw Min Tun at a news conference.
He added that Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint are being held in a “safer place for their safety.”
Suu Kyi is believed to be under house arrest at her residence in the capital Naypyitaw.
What’s the latest with the protests?
Protesters across Myanmar took to the streets again on Tuesday.
UN special envoy in Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, told DW that the board “did not expect so many people to take to the streets.”
Some 3,000 protesters, mainly students, carried posters of Suu Kyi during a protest in Mandalay.
Protests in Myanmar’s second-largest city saw a smaller security presence than on Monday, when authorities violently broke up the demonstrations.
In Yangon’s economic center, police cordoned off the street in front of the Central Bank, where protesters have been gathering in recent days.
The United States, the United Nations and dozens of other countries have urged the junta to return the country’s democratically elected government to power.
“Unity around the world is very important not to take this blow,” said Christine Schraner Burgener.
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She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.