YANGON, Myanmar: Jailed Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a military official said on Wednesday, as the junta announced a heat wave had prompted measures to protect inmates.
The 78-year-old 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate is serving a 27-year sentence for a host of criminal convictions, ranging from corruption to breaching coronavirus rules.
Suu Kyi has largely been hidden from view since the military detained her after retaking power in a 2021 coup, and she has reportedly suffered health problems.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, said Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint had been moved from prison to house arrest.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said hot weather had prompted authorities to take measures to protect vulnerable detainees.
"Not only Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint, but also some old prisoners were given necessary care because of very hot weather," Zaw Min Tun told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The temperature in the capital Naypyitaw, where Suu Kyi is believed to be in custody in a specially constructed compound, was expected to hit 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, with even hotter weather forecast for the coming week.
The junta also announced on Wednesday that 3,300 prisoners would be freed as part of a regular amnesty to mark the Southeast Asian country's New Year festival.
Outside Yangon's Insein Prison, about 200 to 300 relatives and friends waited to greet prisoners as they were taken out of the compound in buses.
It was not immediately clear how long Suu Kyi would be allowed to remain under house arrest beyond the heat wave, or whether the move represented an official reduction in her sentence.
Local media reported that during her monthslong trial, Suu Kyi had suffered dizzy spells, vomiting and, at times, had been unable to eat because of a tooth infection.
Her younger son Kim Aris told AFP in February that she was still being held at the special compound in Naypyitaw.
The compound had no air conditioning in the searing heat, and the concrete cells leaked during the monsoon, said Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former adviser to Suu Kyi's government who was detained there for months.
Suu Kyi spent about 15 years under house arrest at her family's colonial-era lakeside mansion in the commercial hub Yangon after she shot to fame during huge demonstrations against the then-junta in 1988.
Wednesday's prisoner amnesty includes 13 Indonesians and 15 Sri Lankans who will be deported, the junta said.
Remaining prisoners will have their sentences cut by one-sixth, the junta said in a statement, except for those convicted of serious offenses, including murder, terrorism and illegal drugs.
Myanmar's military ousted Suu Kyi's civilian government in a lightning coup on Feb. 1, 2021, ending the country's 10-year experiment with democracy after decades of army rule.
The coup triggered a huge outpouring of public opposition, which the military attempted to crush with force, unleashing a spiraling conflict that has left more than 4,800 civilians dead.
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