Myanmar’s detained former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been moved from prison to house arrest, state television announced.
The news was also released in a short text message to journalists from the government’s military information team.
It was accompanied by a photo showing the 80-year-old sitting on a wooden bench in a skirt and traditional white blouse. She is sitting behind a low table facing two unidentified men, one in a police uniform and the other wearing another kind of uniform.
Ms Suu Kyi has been in detention since February 1 2021, when the army seized power from her elected government. She has not been seen publicly since then, and the last official photo showing her was released on May 24 2021, showing her in court.
She was originally sentenced to 33 years in prison in late 2022 for several offences that her supporters and rights groups described as attempts to discredit her and legitimise the army takeover that removed her from office, as well as to prevent her return to politics.
The message announcing her transfer says she was moved from the main prison in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, to house arrest, with the action taken “made to celebrate Buddha Day, to show humanitarian concern, and to demonstrate the kindness of the state”.
It does not specify her exact location but says that according to the law on designating a place of imprisonment “she will now serve the remainder of her sentence at a specific home instead of in prison”.