The National League for Democracy’s Central Youth Affairs Committee leader Ma Moe Sandar Suu Kyi, who was due to be released from Bago Region’s Thayarwady Prison after completing her sentence, has been immediately re-arrested at the prison gate under Anti-Terrorism Law Article 52(a). Ma Moe Sandar Suu Kyi was initially arrested on May 9, 2021, in Yangon’s Hledan Township and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment under Sections 505(a) and 17(1) at Insein Prison. After serving over 4 years of unjust imprisonment, she was set to be released on August 7 but was immediately re-arrested by the military council at the prison entrance.
Currently, Ma Moe Sandar Suu Kyi is being denied all visitation rights, including family visits and prison correspondence. According to NLD sources, she will face new charges under the Anti-Terrorism Law Article 52(a) while remaining in detention, potentially leading to additional years of imprisonment. Despite these circumstances, reports indicate that her health condition remains good and her spirit remains strong. The new charges against her are part of a systematic pattern of the military council re-arresting political prisoners at prison gates upon completion of their sentences, using various sections of law to extend their detention.
Ma Moe Sandar Suu Kyi is the daughter of U Nyi Pu, the former Chief Minister of Rakhine State, who is also being unjustly detained by the military council at Insein Prison. According to the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM), she is among 74 individuals who have been re-arrested at prison gates upon completing their sentences. This practice demonstrates the military council’s deliberate strategy to continue suppressing political activists and democracy movement leaders through repeated arrests and extended detention periods. The military council’s actions represent a systematic approach to maintaining pressure on political prisoners and attempting to weaken the democratic movement through legal mechanisms, despite these detentions being widely recognized as politically motivated and unjust.
