Myanmar: Jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi granted pardon on five of 19 offenses, to remain under house arrest

However, the 78-year Nobel Laureate will continue to remain under house arrest, media reports said.

The pardon will help Suu Kyi’s 33-years jail term be reduced by six years and that it was a part of an amnesty under which more than 7,000 prisoners were freed across conflict-hit Myanmar.

Myanmar has been witnessing a bloody turmoil since 2021 when the military overthrew Suu Kyi’s elected government and enforced a crackdown on the opponents of the military rule.

It was during this time; thousands of people were jailed, and several were even killed.

On Monday, the election promised to be held in the country by August this year, was postponed, and the state of emergency was extended for a period of another six months.

Suu Kyi was last week removed from prison and was placed under house arrest in the capital.

She denies all charges, ranging from election fraud to corruption, for which she was detained during the coup.

The country’s military state administration also reduced the jail term of former president Win Myint, who was arrested at the same time as Suu Kyi, by four years.

According to reports, both Suu Kyi and Win Myint would continue to remain in detention.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero, was first put under house arrest in 1989 after huge protests rocked the country against decades of military rule.

In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her long campaign for democracy but was freed from house arrest only in 2010.

She swept the 2015 election as well as the next one in 2020.

However, the military complained of election fraud during the 2020 vote and resorted to a coup in early 2021 to ensure complaints were properly investigated.