(AP) — Police have leveled their first formal charge against Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Members of her party said Wednesday that she has been charged with possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies. The move gives military leaders who staged a coup a legal reason to hold her at least through the middle of the month.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since Monday when top generals announced they would take power for one year — accusing her government of not investigating the military’s allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. Suu Kyi’s party swept that vote, and the military-backed party did poorly.
National League for Democracy spokesman Kyi Toe confirmed the charge. It carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.