World

Jailed Myanmar Ex-Leader Aung San Suu Kyi Denied Request for Urgent Medical Care

‘CALLOUS’

Aung San Suu Kyi, 78, is currently unable to eat, reports say.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi attends the ASEAN Summit gala dinner in Vientiane, Laos September 7, 2016.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Myanmar’s military authorities reportedly denied a request for urgent medical care for the country’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, amid alarming reports about her declining health. An unnamed source told Reuters that the 78-year-old Nobel laureate—who was jailed after being ousted from power in a coup in 2021—had asked to see an outside physician, but that she was instead treated by a prisons department doctor. “She was suffering swelling in her gums and could not eat well and is feeling light-headed along with vomiting,” the source said. Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, told the Independent that the military junta’s decision could put his mother’s life in danger. “To deny a sick prisoner access to recommended medical care is callous and cruel,” he said. Aris added: “Anyone who has such painful gum disease that they are unable to eat obviously has their entire health at risk if suitable treatment is denied.”

Read it at The Independent