Myanmar's military junta has announced that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transferred from prison to house arrest, state media reported Thursday.
The 80-year-old Nobel laureate has been held incommunicado since she was ousted in a 2021 coup. Military chief Min Aung Hlaing said he had commuted her remaining sentence to be served at a designated residence.
State television broadcast an image of Suu Kyi seated with two uniformed personnel, but her son, Kim Aris, expressed doubt. "I hope this is true. I still haven't seen any real evidence to show that she has been moved," he told the BBC. He called the photo "meaningless" as it was taken in 2022 and said he has not heard from his mother in years.
Before the announcement, nothing was known about her health or living conditions. Her legal team also told Reuters they had no direct notification of the transfer.
Suu Kyi was arrested on the day of the coup and has been seen only once since, during a court appearance in May 2021. Her original 33-year sentence has been reduced several times.
Analysts suggest the move may signal the junta is preparing for a partial or complete release, as Min Aung Hlaing seeks to end Myanmar's international isolation. The military has recently scored battlefield gains against armed opposition and held a widely criticized election that kept the same leaders in power.
Suu Kyi came to power in 2015 after decades as a pro-democracy activist, during which she spent more than 15 years under house arrest. Her Nobel Peace Prize-winning image was tarnished when she led Myanmar's defense against genocide charges at the International Court of Justice over atrocities against the Rohingya minority.