Myanmar junta allows Aung San Suu Kyi first call with son in five years

Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken with her son for the first time in five years, marking a rare concession by Myanmar's military junta that has held the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in detention since the February 2021 coup. The conversation lasted approximately 20 minutes, according to reports on Thursday.

The 81-year-old opposition leader has been denied contact with family members abroad throughout her incarceration, with the junta maintaining strict restrictions on her communications. Her son, who resides in London, had been unable to reach his mother by phone during the entire period of her imprisonment.

International pressure from governments and human rights organizations appears to have prompted the military administration to permit the limited contact. The junta has faced sustained criticism over Suu Kyi's detention and the broader crackdown on Myanmar's pro-democracy movement following the coup that ousted the elected government.

Suu Kyi has faced multiple charges in military courts since her arrest, with proceedings that observers have described as lacking due process. The brief phone call represents one of few concessions granted to the veteran politician, whose National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in 2020 elections that the military claimed were fraudulent.