Moe San Su Kyi, a leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, was taken back into custody on Thursday moments after her release from Tharyarwaddy Prison in Bago Region, sources close to the prison and her family said.
The NLD member had been serving a six-year prison term for charges under Section 505(a) of Myanmar’s Penal Code—on sedition—and Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.
Military authorities had originally arrested her May 9, 2021, just over three months after seizing power in a coup, at her apartment in Hledan in Yangon’s Kamayut Township, later handing her a six-year sentence.
Moe San Su Kyi was leaving the prison on Thursday after having completed her full sentence—reduced by one-third according to standard prison rules—but as she reached the exit, police immediately took her back into custody on the pretext of “questioning”.
Relatives awaiting her release outside the prison were left in shock as they witnessed the scene, a senior NLD official close to the family said.
The same source told Myanmar Now that authorities have since filed a new charge against Moe San Su Kyi under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
“Just as she stepped out, she was taken away in a police vehicle,” the source said. “They told us the township police needed to ask her something. Then we learned she was being charged again.”
Family members who followed her to the local police station were not informed of her status, and officials refused to answer their questions. It was only later, via a phone call from a military intelligence officer, that the family learned Moe San Su Kyi had been taken back to Thayarwaddy Prison.
“She had been released, and then they just brought her back,” the source said. “This morning, we learned that they had filed a new charge under 52(a).”
Moe San Su Kyi had been transferred from Yangon’s Insein Prison to Tharyarwaddy in June 2023. A person close to her said that with her sentences under the Section 505(a) and 17(1) charges nearly complete, her release was expected this month.
“She was moved to Tharyarwaddy when her sentence was near its end. She was supposed to have been released,” the NLD official said. “But they found a way to keep her in.”
Throughout her imprisonment, Moe San Su Kyi was known for adhering unwaveringly to her political convictions and refusing to cooperate with prison authorities. She was reportedly held in close quarters with death row inmates and kept under tight surveillance by the military.
“She never collaborated with the authorities. She stood firm,” the source continued. “She was involved in every resistance activity happening inside the prison.”
Moe San Su Kyi’s father Nyi Pu, a central executive committee member of the NLD, was also arrested following the 2021 military coup and remains in custody at Yangon’s Insein Prison. A former chief minister of Rakhine State, Nyi Pu was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison on various corruption-related and Section 505(b) charges.
The military officially disbanded the NLD in 2023 after it failed to meet the registration requirements the junta had set for participating in national elections.
Tharyarwaddy Prison, located some 70 miles northwest of Yangon, is a notorious colonial-era facility known for its harsh treatment of political prisoners. It was previously used by British colonial authorities to incarcerate and execute anti-colonial revolutionaries, including peasant leader Saya San.
Since the 2021 coup, the prison has come under the control of former military officer Ye Yint Naing, who is widely known for his abusive treatment of political detainees.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 7,043 people have been killed and 29,515 arrested by the military junta as of August 7, 2025.
