Protesters hold up a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi and raise three-finger salutes during a demonstration to mark the third anniversary of Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, outside of the United Nations office in Bangkok, Thailand, February 1, 2024. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
(Reuters) - Myanmar's detained former leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is in good spirits in solitary confinement "even if her health is not as good as it was in the past", her son was quoted on Thursday as saying.
Kim Aris said he'd received a photograph of a hand-written letter via the British Foreign Office from his mother, who has been detained by the Myanmar military since it overthrew her government in a 2021 coup.
Aris reiterated calls for her release as Thursday marked the third anniversary of the coup that triggered a vicious cycle of violence and economic strife in the Southeast Asian country.
"(The letter) is just sending love to the rest of the family and saying that she's in good spirits. Her spirit is strong, even if her health is not as good as it was in the past," said Aris, 47, according to BBC Burmese and Radio Free Asia.
He added that Suu Kyi remains in solitary confinement in a Naypyitaw prison.
Late last year, Aris said he was "extremely worried" about his mother's health, saying she was struggling to eat and was being refused permission to see an outside doctor.
The 78-year-old Nobel laureate faces 27 years in prison for crimes ranging from treason and bribery to violations of the telecommunications law, charges she denies. World leaders and pro-democracy activists have repeatedly called for her release.
Three years on from the coup, Myanmar's military is facing the biggest challenge to its rule, as an armed resistance movement gathers pace on several fronts.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Nick Macfie)
