The Supreme Court of Myanmar has ordered the sale of Aung San Suu Kyi’s home in Yangon, in a ruling issued one week before the third anniversary of her imprisonment by the military junta, according to local media reports.
A floor price of US$90 million has been set for the auction to be held on March 20, said The Irrawaddy, an independent news portal.
The home has long been the subject of a dispute between Aung San Suu Kyi and her estranged brother. The court ruled on Thursday that the siblings must share the proceeds from any sale.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers have so far been unable to meet with the jailed leader to consult her about the ruling.
The 78-year-old former state counsellor was arrested on the day of the military coup on Feb 1, 2021, and later sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison on various charges that her supporters say were politically motivated.
Her sentences were subsequently reduced to 27 years in total and appeals are continuing. The Supreme Court in October last year rejected appeals of six convictions but the status of other cases is not known.
Most of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s time has been served in solitary confinement at Nay Pyi Taw Prison, say local sources.
Former Thai foreign affairs minister Don Pramudwinai met with Aung San Suu Kyi in July last year. He is believed to be the only foreign envoy to have met her since she was detained.
The lakeside villa in Yangon is where Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest for 15 years by the previous military regime. The property has been the source of a family dispute between the former leader and her elder brother for decades. In 2000, while she was under house arrest, Aung San Oo sued her, claiming that the house was his. The Irrawaddy reported.
U Aung San Oo’s original case was thrown out by the courts, but he filed a new suit claiming joint ownership of the property. In 2016, a Yangon court ruled that Aung San Suu Kyi owned the two-storey building and half of the land, while another building on the property and the rest of the land belonged to her brother.
In January 2019, Aung San Oo appealed to the Supreme Court, petitioning for the auction of the residence and a share of the proceeds. The junta-controlled Supreme Court finally ruled in his favour on Thursday.