Myanmar reduces ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence, her lawyer says

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Above, protesters hold an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration outside the UN office in Bangkok on Feb. 1, 2024. Suu Kyi’s sentence has ⁠been cut by one-sixth by Myanmar. (AFP)
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Myanmar president Min Aung Hlaing arrives for a session of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in Naypyidaw on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Updated 17 April 2026
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Myanmar reduces ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence, her lawyer says

  • Communique: ‘Those serving death sentences shall have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment’
  • Friday’s act was announced as part of a broader amnesty to mark Myanmar’s Thingyan new year

Myanmar has reduced the sentence of imprisoned ex-leader Aung San Suu ​Kyi, her lawyer told Reuters on Friday.

Suu Kyi, 80, was serving a 27-year sentence for a litany of offenses her allies said were politically motivated to keep her at bay, ranging from incitement and corruption ‌to election ‌fraud and violating a ​state ‌secrets ⁠law. The ​sentence has ⁠been cut by one-sixth, but it remains unclear whether the Nobel Peace Prize winner will be allowed to serve the rest of her sentence under house arrest, the lawyer ⁠said.

Myanmar's new President Min ‌Aung Hlaing has ‌approved an amnesty for 4,335 ​prisoners, state ‌television reported on Friday, the third such ‌move in the past six months. Amnesties typically take place in Myanmar each year to mark Independence Day in January ‌and New Year in April.

A spokesperson for the military-backed government ⁠did ⁠not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Min Aung Hlaing staged a military coup against a democratically elected government led by Suu Kyi in 2021, plunging the country into turmoil. He was elected president on April 3 in polls that were widely criticized by international observers as ​neither free nor ​fair.