Myanmar’s military government on Thursday moved the country’s ousted civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, from prison to house arrest, according to state media, as the junta pursued an effort to win global legitimacy.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 80, has been detained since 2021, when she was forced from power in a bloody coup led by the military and sentenced to 27 years in prison. The junta has since consolidated control over Myanmar, jailing opponents and squashing dissent.
The state news outlet, Myanmar Radio and Television, reported that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi would spend the remainder of her sentence at a designated residence. State media did not specify where that would be.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s family has called urgently for her release, warning that her health was deteriorating.
This month, as part of an annual tradition to commemorate Myanmar’s New Year, the junta released U Win Myint, the ousted president and a close political ally of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s. It also shortened her sentence by 4.5 years. An additional 4,300 prisoners were granted amnesty by the government.
Under international pressure, Myanmar’s military government has pursued a state-managed campaign to win global legitimacy for the junta. As part of that effort, the country’s powerful military leader, U Min Aung Hlaing, relinquished his military title and was sworn in as the civilian head of state on April 3.
In December and January, the junta held elections in military-controlled areas and banned opposition parties from participating. The result was a rubber-stamp Parliament dominated by supporters of the military, which elected Mr. Min Aung Hlaing as president.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was charged by the junta with a series of crimes, including corruption, election fraud, inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols.
When Myanmar elected her party to power in 2015, she was widely revered for enduring years of house arrest while leading the country’s movement for democracy. In 1991, she won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.
By 2021, when she was detained, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s global reputation had been tarnished, in large part because of criticism that she had downplayed the army’s violent campaign against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group based in the region that tracks Myanmar’s detainees, says it has verified that more than 14,200 political prisoners are in custody, and it estimates that the country holds more than 22,000 political prisoners in all.
Pranav Baskar is an international reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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