A police officer who became close to ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi when she was under house arrest three decades ago is on trial on charges of violating the Official Secrets Act, according to his lawyer.
Aung Naing Oo, who referred to Suu Kyi as “Mother” when he was on duty under the administration of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), was accused of sharing military-related information with Ko Jimmy, a well-known ‘88 Generation student leader, his lawyer said.
“They found evidence that he had leaked information on Ko Jimmy’s phone. They think he snitched to the enemy,” said the lawyer, who did not want to be named.
Ko Jimmy, whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu, was arrested in Yangon’s North Dagon Township in late October. He was subsequently charged with high treason and terrorism and sentenced to death.
Aung Naing Oo was arrested the following month and charged under Section 3(1)(c) of the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
His trial began at a special prison court in Naypyitaw on January 28, his lawyer told Myanmar Now. Hearings will be held every Friday until a verdict is reached, he added.
Also known as Ko Thar Nge, Aung Naing Oo was first assigned to keep Suu Kyi under surveillance after she was detained for opposing the junta that seized power in 1988.
Years later, he was transferred as a Special Branch officer to the President’s Office, making the move ahead of the widely anticipated electoral victory of Suu Kyi’s NLD in 2015, according to a source close to the NLD senior leadership.
“The Special Branch officers formerly stationed in front of Number 54 [Suu Kyi’s Yangon home] were put on duty at the President’s Office. It seems [the military] sent them to act as informants,” he said.
At least three security officers linked to Suu Kyi, including Aung Naing Oo, are believed to have been arrested since the military staged a coup in the wake of the NLD’s landslide win in 2020.
In September, the junta detained Cherry Htet, a police sub-lieutenant at Special Branch who acted as Suu Kyi’s bodyguard, for allegedly writing Facebooks posts in support of the ousted leader. She was charged with incitement and also accused of having links to the underground National Unity Government, which the regime has designated a terrorist organisation.
The source close to the NLD has also told Myanmar Now that police inspector Pyae Phyo Naing was given a three-year prison sentence by the military council, but this could not be independently confirmed.
Suu Kyi, 76, has herself been hit with multiple charges since she was arrested when the military seized power one year ago. The regime has laid a total of 17 charges against her so far, and convicted her of five of them.
Her various sentences to date come to a total of six years in prison, but she could face decades behind bars as the remaining cases are decided.
