Myanmar reduces ousted leader Suu Kyi's prison term in new amnesty

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-backed government shortened the prison sentence of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, a move that came as part of a prisoner pardon tied to a Buddhist religious holiday, according to legal officials and reports in state media.

The amnesty is the second in two weeks, following an earlier one on April 17 when more than 4,500 prisoners were granted amnesty. It was not immediately clear how many people imprisoned for opposing military rule in Myanmar were included in Thursday’s amnesty.

Two legal officials, who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities, said Thursday’s measure would further reduce Suu Kyi’s sentence by one-sixth, but did not specify the exact remaining term. Based on previous reductions, the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is expected to have more than 13 years left to serve.

State media said Thursday that in addition to the amnesty granted to 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, the sentences of remaining convicted prisoners were cut by one-sixth to mark the Full Moon day of “Kason,” known as Buddha’s Birthday and Demise.

The amnesties come after Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was sworn into office as president on April 10 following an election that critics say was neither free nor fair and was orchestrated to maintain the military’s tight grip on power.

In his inauguration speech, he said his government would grant amnesties aimed at promoting social reconciliation, justice and peace.

Suu Kyi was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021 when the army seized power from her elected government.

She was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 for several offenses that her supporters and rights groups described as attempts to discredit her and legitimize the army takeover that removed her from office, as well as to prevent her return to politics.

Her term was reduced to 27 years in August 2023 and then further cut by more than four years on April 17, when prison terms of less than 40 years were cut by one-sixth.

Suu Kyi is serving the prison term at an undisclosed location in the capital Naypyitaw.

There were reports last week that she might be transferred to house arrest as part of the clemency, but there was no confirmation from the government.

Information about her condition remains tightly controlled. Reports in 2024 and 2025 indicated declining health, including low blood pressure, dizziness and heart problems, but these claims could not be independently verified. Her legal team has not been allowed to meet her in person since December 2022.

The 2021 army takeover triggered massive public resistance that was brutally suppressed, triggering a bloody civil war that has killed thousands of people.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights monitoring organization, 22,047 people have been in detention in Myanmar since the army takeover.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s martyred independence hero Gen. Aung San, spent almost 15 years as a political prisoner under house arrest between 1989 and 2010.

Her tough stand against military rule in Myanmar turned her into a symbol of nonviolent struggle for democracy, and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.