Aung San Suu Kyi didn’t have sufficient time with legal professionals: head of the authorized workforce

Myanmar’s ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint did not receive the full preliminary trial, according to a lawyer representing both.

Her lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said the police only gave him 30 minutes to discuss the legal proceedings personally with his clients.

“There is not enough time, not enough time to discuss these cases,” he told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Wednesday.

“I think the pre-trial rights and access to legal advice of the accused – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint – are insufficient and not fully granted,” he said.

I cannot say for sure that to this day they have been given fair procedural rights.

Khin Maung Zaw

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer

The Myanmar military staged a coup on February 1 against the elected government of Suu Kyi – a Nobel Peace Prize winner and de facto leader of the civilian government. Both she and the president were arrested and the military alleged that there was fraud in last year’s democratic elections.

Win Myint has been charged with violating the constitution, while Suu Kyi has brought charges ranging from violating a state secret law to illegally possessing walkie-talkies.

Her attorney said he was instructed to defend her on the grounds that owning these devices was not against the law.

Myanmar’s State Councilor, Aung San Suu Kyi, looks on at the Peace Palace of The Hague on the second day of her hearing on the Rohingya genocide case at the United Nations International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019.

Koen Van Weel | AFP | Getty Images

When asked if Suu Kyi would get a fair trial, her lawyer said he had a duty to trust the Myanmar courts as an attorney working in the country’s legal system.

“However, based on our experience in this case, we are not satisfied with the options offered to the defendants,” said Khin Maung Zaw.

“I cannot say for sure that to this day they have been given fair procedural rights,” he said, adding that he had “had a lot of trouble” trying to file a power of attorney.

On Monday, Myanmar’s state media broadcast images of Suu Kyi for the first time since the coup.

Khin Maung Zaw told Reuters that Suu Kyi looked like she was in good health when he met her, even though she said she had no access to newspapers while she was in detention.

In response to the coup, thousands of people in Myanmar took to the streets to protest the military and there were occasional violent clashes with authorities. According to the Aid Association for Political Prisoners, around 828 people have been killed and more than 5,400 arrested since the army took power and declared a one-year state of emergency.