YANGON, Myanmar— Myanmar's junta said on Monday it
had released a firebrand anti-Muslim Buddhist monk jailed by Aung San Suu Kyi's
toppled government on sedition charges.
اضافة اعلان
Ashin Wirathu — once dubbed by Time magazine as the
"Buddhist Bin Laden" for his role in stirring up religious hatred in
Myanmar — was released after all charges against him were dropped, a statement
said.
He was "receiving treatment at a military
hospital" it added, without give any details on why he had been
hospitalized.
The 53-year-old has long been known for his nationalist
anti-Islamic rhetoric — particularly against the stateless Rohingya Muslim
community.
In 2017, Myanmar's highest Buddhist authority banned him
from preaching for one year over his tirades.
After the ban expired, however, the
pro-military preacher
once again became a regular at nationalist rallies, where he accused the
government of corruption and fumed against its failed attempts to re-write the
junta-scripted constitution.
He had been facing charges for attempting to bring
"hatred or contempt" and of "exciting disaffection" towards
the then-government of democracy leader
Suu Kyi.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the February coup and a
military crackdown on dissent that has killed more than 1,000 people, according
to a local monitoring group.
The State Administration Council — as the junta calls itself
— last month cancelled the result of November elections, which Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy party won in a landslide.
Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has justified his power grab by
claiming massive electoral fraud in the polls.
Detained since the coup, Suu Kyi faces charges including
flouting coronavirus restrictions and illegally importing walkie talkies —
which could see her jailed for more than a decade.
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