A Myanmar court has announced a four-year jail term for popular democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under detention since the military coup on February 1, 2021.

Suu Kyi has been awarded two years jail on charges of inciting dissent against the Myanmar military and another two years for 'breaking a natural disasters law'–violation of Covid-19 rules.

Military junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told media persons that there are other charges against her and she could face more charges soon.

Besides Suu Kyi, former president Win Myint too has been awarded the same punishment for the same charges.

Just months before the coup, Suu Kyi had won democratically-held elections, which also had seen monitoring by the Japanese, who wanted to widen the democratic process by including more ethnic groups in the elections.
 
However, the military charged her with manipulating the elections and deposed her government, imprisoning many party leaders despite the covid-19 infection.

The sacking of Suu Kyi led to widespread protests against the military in which nearly 1,300 people have been killed. At many places, the anti-coup protests have turned violent.