Myanmar cuts ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence, frees former president

Myanmar has reduced the sentence of imprisoned ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer told Reuters on Friday, as part of an amnesty by a new president who ousted her government in a coup five years ago.



Suu Kyi, 80, was serving a 27-year sentence for a litany of charges her allies said were politically motivated to keep her at bay, ranging from incitement and corruption to election fraud and violating a state secrets law.



The sentence has been cut by one-sixth, but it remains unclear whether the Nobel Peace Prize winner will be allowed to serve the rest of her sentence under house arrest, the lawyer said.



Suu Kyi, who had dismissed the charges against her as "absurd", has not been seen in public since the end of her marathon trials, and her whereabouts have been unknown.



The United Nations said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "takes note" of the moves, while underscoring "the need for meaningful efforts to ensure the swift release of all those arbitrarily detained, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to create conditions conducive to a credible political process."