ICRC announces it met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi privately

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that a representative visited and met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi today (August 3). The meeting was conducted in accordance with the ICRC's standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of their liberty, and the ICRC's statement indicated that they were able to meet and speak with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi privately. The ICRC's statement also mentioned that prison visits conducted in accordance with ICRC procedures include the opportunity to exchange family messages. In accordance with the customs of the ICRC's prison activities, the observations and recommendations made during the visit will be kept confidential and shared only with the prison authorities, the ICRC announced. According to procedures, the observations and recommendations related to the visit will be provided and shared privately and confidentially only with the responsible authorities, the ICRC stated. The ICRC's statement indicated that it continues to engage with the relevant authorities to maintain and expand access to prisons in Myanmar. Since 2021, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been prosecuted under various laws including the Anti-Corruption Law, the Natural Disaster Management Law, the Export-Import Law, the Telecommunications Law, and for defamation of the state, and has been sentenced to long-term imprisonment, although some of the sentences were later commuted by pardon. Amid calls from the international community, ASEAN, and domestic political forces for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for national reconciliation in Myanmar, and with the current ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar Affairs, Philippine Foreign Minister Lazaro, requesting a private meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Administration Council's Information and Public Relations Bureau announced that the ICRC's Country Representative in Myanmar visited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. On April 30, the President changed the designation for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to serve the remainder of her sentences at a designated residence. The statement indicated that the President, in commemoration of the full moon day of Kason in the year 1388, which falls on the full moon of Kason Buddha Day, and out of humanitarian consideration and the state's goodwill and compassion, has changed the designation for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving her sentence at the Naypyidaw Prison, to serve the remainder of her sentence at a designated residence, in accordance with Section 541, Sub-section (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.