Monday’s guilty verdicts by a court in the capital Naypyidaw, related to charges of inciting dissent and breaking Covid-19 rules.
Maw Htun Aung, a deputy minister in Myanmar’s exiled opposition national unity government reacted with dismay, saying: “I don’t expect anything out of this broken justice system.”
Her co-defendant Win Myint, the former president and fellow leader in the National League for Democracy (NLD) was also convicted over the same allegations and received a similar jail term.
Both Ms Suu Kyi and Mr Myint will serve their sentences where they are currently being detained, an undisclosed location, suggesting they will not be sent to prison.
Ms Suu Kyi has denied all charges, including serious accusations of corruption that each carry a sentence of 15 years, illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and breaking the colonial era Official Secrets Act. The verdict in another case against her is due next week.
Former prime minister Tony Blair added to the criticism, saying their “imprisonment on trumped up charges shows the ruthless brutality of the current regime in Myanmar and their intention to completely destroy the country’s fledgling democracy”.
“What is happening day by day in the country is tragic, cruel and completely without justification,” he added.
“The junta must understand from the reaction of the world’s leading nations, that there is no way back into the international community without setting out a clear and credible plan for the restoration of civilian rule.”
It is not clear where she and Win Myint will serve their prison sentences, and their lawyers, who have been served with gag orders forbidding them from releasing information, are expected to file appeals in the coming days.
The incitement case involved statements posted on the NLD’s Facebook page after party leaders had already been detained by the military, while the coronavirus charge involved a campaign appearance by Ms Suu Kyi ahead of November elections last year which her party won in a landslide.
The military accused the NLD of massive fraud during the poll, but independent election observers said there was no evidence to support this claim.
Ms Suu Kyi’s supporters say the charges against her are politically motivated and designed to discredit and bar the popular leader from running against the army in future elections. The trial has also been widely condemned by the international community, which has called for democracy to be restored.
Amnesty International immediately denounced the sentences against Ms Suu Kyi.
“The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges are the latest example of the military’s determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar,” said Amnesty deputy regional director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah.
“The court’s farcical and corrupt decision is part of a devastating pattern of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup in February.”
