Myanmar's former leader Suu Kyi moved to house arrest after sentence reduction

Myanmar's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved to house arrest, state media has reported, more than five years after the military ousted her civilian government and detained her following the 2021 coup.

Junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing said in a statement on Thursday (30 April) that her remaining prison sentence had been commuted to be served at a designated residence.

State media also released a photograph showing the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate seated on a wooden bench flanked by two uniformed personnel – the first public image of her in years.

Earlier in the day, authorities announced a reduction in prison sentences as part of a broader amnesty tied to a Buddhist religious holiday. According to the state media, 1,519 prisoners, including 11 foreigners, were granted pardons, while sentences of other inmates were reduced by one-sixth.

Suu Kyi, who was sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 on multiple charges, has seen her term reduced in stages. Following the latest amnesty – the second in recent weeks – her sentence is estimated to stand at around 18 years, with more than 13 years still remaining.

The United Nations welcomed the move cautiously. A spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres described it as a "meaningful step" toward creating conditions for a credible political process, while reiterating calls for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's legal team, however, said they had not received any formal notification. "We only found out about it from the news announcement," a member of her team told Reuters.

The representative confirmed that the 80-year-old leader was transferred to house arrest in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Thursday night. Her lawyers are expected to meet her this weekend – their first direct access in some time – to discuss her situation and next legal steps.

Suu Kyi has been held in detention since the military seized power in February 2021, an event that triggered a prolonged and deadly conflict across the country. Her whereabouts had remained largely undisclosed during her imprisonment.

After a series of closed-door trials, she was convicted on charges ranging from corruption to violating state secrecy laws – allegations her supporters say were politically motivated to bar her return to politics.

Her sentence was previously reduced from 33 years to 27 years, and then further cut during a New Year amnesty in April that also saw the release of former president Win Myint.

The latest decision comes amid continued international pressure on Myanmar's military leadership to release political detainees and restore democratic processes.

Suu Kyi had previously spent about 15 years under house arrest during earlier periods of military rule, much of it at her family home in Yangon, where she became a global symbol of the pro-democracy movement.