Aung San Suu Kyi, the jailed de facto leader of Myanmar’s deposed civilian government, is reportedly in ill health and is being denied urgent medical care by the ruling military junta.
An anonymous source familiar with the matter told news outlets the 78-year-old Suu Kyi is unable to eat much due to severe toothaches and is vomiting and suffering from dizzy spells. BBC News says it has learned that Suu Kyi has chronic gum disease and suffers from low-blood pressure as well.
She is being treated by a doctor with Myanmar’s prisons department, according to the source.
Her son Kim Aris told BBC in a text message that denying her recommended medical care is both “callous and cruel.”
The 1991 Nobel Peace laureate has been in detention since the military overthrew her democratically elected government in February 2021. She was tried and convicted by the junta on 19 criminal offenses ranging from sedition to election fraud to violating coronavirus restrictions and sentenced to a combined 33 years in prison.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing pardoned Suu Kyi on five of the convictions last month, reducing her sentence by six years.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story used an incorrect name for Aung San Suu Kyi's son.
