Trial of Myanmar's Suu Kyi taking toll on her health: lawyer

Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken into custody in a coup that plunged the country into turmoil.

The 76-year-old faces a raft of charges, from sedition to illegally importing walkie-talkies, which could see her jailed for decades.

She applied for hearings to take place every two weeks instead of weekly "on the grounds of her health," her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said after her latest court appearance.

After new corruption charges were brought against her last week, the Nobel laureate now must appear most weekdays at a courtroom in the military-built capital Naypyidaw.

The trial had left Suu Kyi feeling "strained", Khin Maung Zaw said, without offering more details.

He added that the judge would make a decision on her request next week.

Eight months since the coup, clashes between junta forces and anti-coup dissidents have escalated, with increasingly bloody attacks and reprisals.

Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, spearheaded by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have failed to make headway.

Brunei Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof, who was selected as the regional bloc's envoy in August after lengthy wrangling, had called for full access to all parties when he visits.

But last week a junta spokesman told AFP it was unlikely he would be allowed to meet Suu Kyi.

Security forces have killed more than 1,100 civilians since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

US journalist held in Myanmar hit with second charge: lawyer
Yangon (AFP) Oct 5, 2021 - An American journalist imprisoned by Myanmar's junta since May has been hit with a second criminal charge, his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.

Danny Fenster, managing editor of Frontier Myanmar, was detained at Yangon International Airport as he attempted to leave the country.

He is currently on trial for allegedly encouraging dissent against the military, which carries a maximum three-year jail sentence.

During the latest hearing at Insein prison in Yangon on Monday, he was hit with another charge of unlawful association, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung said.

Conviction under the colonial-era law also carries a maximum sentence of three years in jail.

It has previously been used to target journalists contacting Myanmar's myriad ethnic armed groups fighting the state for increased autonomy and control over natural resources.

Fenster's second trial is expected to start on October 15, Than Zaw Aung said.

His client was "in good health, but he lost weight a little bit", he added.

Fenster, 37, had been working for Frontier for around a year and was heading home to see his family when he was detained on May 24.

He is believed to have contracted Covid-19 during his detention, family members said during a conference call with American journalists in August.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a February 1 coup and ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government.

The press has been squeezed as the junta tries to tighten control over the flow of information, throttling internet access and revoking the licences of local media outlets.

More than 100 journalists have been arrested since the putsch, according to Reporting ASEAN, a monitoring group.

It says 48 are still in detention.