Myanmar's junta chief has said he will consider allowing deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be moved to house arrest from prison but only after verdicts in a litany of cases against her have been reached.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing's written remarks, read out on state television on Friday, came in response to a request made by a top UN official who visited Myanmar this week and asked for Suu Kyi to be allowed to return home.

"I will consider the matter...after the verdict is done," he said in the statement. "We did not impose strong charges on her and showed mercy even though we were able to do more."

Suu Kyi, ousted in a widely condemned military coup last year, was moved to a jail in the capital Naypyitaw in June where she is being held in solitary confinement, the army said.

Since the coup, Suu Kyi has been charged with at least 18 offences ranging from graft to election violations, and has already been sentenced to several years' jail.

She has called the accusations absurd and denies all charges against her.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, was first put under house arrest in 1989 after huge protests against decades of military rule.

Source: Online

BDST: 1400 HRS, AUG 20, 2022
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