Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Moved to House Arrest, Military Says

MRTV

This undated handout photo from the Myanmar Military Information Team released on 30 April 2026 shows Aung San Suu Kyi talking in an undisclosed location. It is unclear when the image was taken.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was elected as Myanmar's leader in 2015 and was removed from office in a military coup in 2021, has been moved to house arrest, the country's state media has reported.

A statement by military leader Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup, said he had "commuted her remaining sentence to be served at the designated residence".

The 80-year-old Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, came to power in 2015 after Myanmar's then rulers introduced democratic reforms. Before that, she spent decades of military rule as a pro-democracy activist, and was previously held for more than 15 years under house arrest.

State media broadcast a picture of her sitting with two uniformed personnel.

Her son Kim Aris said he was sceptical about the announcement and that he did not even have proof that she was alive. He said the picture was "meaningless" as it was taken in 2022.

"I hope this is true. I still haven't seen any real evidence to show that she has been moved," he told the BBC.

"So, until I'm allowed communication with her, or somebody can independently verify her condition and her whereabouts, then I won't believe anything."

Prior to the announcement, nothing was known about her health or living conditions, and Kim Aris said in December he had not heard from her in years. Her legal team told Reuters they had had no direct notification about her house arrest.

Her lawyers have not seen her for more than three years; her family has had no contact with her for more than two, the BBC said in a report.

The only image of her seen before Thursday was at a court appearance in May 2021, at the start of a series of trials by the military on charges which have been widely dismissed as fabricated. Since then, her 33-year sentence has been reduced several times.

Her sudden appearance in state media suggests the military authorities may be preparing for further changes in her status - possibly her partial or complete release.

Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is seeking to end his regime’s international isolation and appears increasingly confident following a series of battlefield gains against armed opposition groups. The military junta also held an election earlier this year, presenting it as a return to a nominally democratic system; however, the process effectively leaves the same military leadership in control.

During her earlier period of confinement, Aung San Suu Kyi earned widespread admiration across Myanmar and internationally for her dignified, non-violent resistance, often addressing supporters from her family home. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

However, her decision to lead Myanmar’s defence against allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice—in relation to the military’s actions against Muslim Rohingya communities in 2017—significantly damaged her previously revered international reputation, according to the BBC report.

Source: BBC, Reuters



PUKMEDIA