Nay Py Taw, Dec 6 (TIWN) Aung San Suu Kyi, the former de facto leader of Myanmar who was ousted during the February 1 military coup, was on Monday sentenced to four years in prison after she was "found guilty on charges of inciting dissent and breaking Covid rules under a natural disasters law", the media reported.

The ruling is expected to be the first of more to come; Suu Kyi is facing 11 charges in total, including for corruption and the sharing of state secrets. If found guilty of all charges, the 76-year-old Suu Kyi faces more than 100 years behind bars.  “It was already clear from day one of the coup that Aung San Suu Kyi was to be silenced, locked away indefinitely on trumped-up charges. So these verdicts come as no surprise,” said Richard Horsey, an analyst on Myanmar at the International Crisis Group. “They are an attempt to demonstrate the military’s power: that they can incarcerate an incredibly popular leader and ignore the will of the country.”  Suu Kyi was tried in a special court in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s spartan capital, in proceedings barred from public view. Her attorneys were prohibited from speaking to the media.