CHIANG MAI, Thailand— After nearly six years in detention, Aung San Suu Kyi's first words to her son were a question about his health. "And then I said all the family was sending their love and asked after her health," said Kim Aris, who spoke by phone with his 81-year-old mother on Thursday, their first direct conversation since the 2021 military coup toppled the democratically elected Myanmar government she led. The 20-minute call, which Aris, who lives in London, believes the military monitored, offered a rare glimpse of how the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate is being held.
She was first sentenced in 2021, with consecutive trials through 2022 bringing her total sentence to 33 years on corruption and electoral fraud charges, widely condemned by the U.S., Western countries, and human rights groups as fabricated. The sentence was later reduced, leaving her with 18 years still to serve. Little has been known about her condition since the coup, which triggered a civil war that has killed about 100,000 people, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event data, a conflict monitoring organization.
The U.N. says the conflict has displaced millions. "My mother is actually alive and well," said Aris, 49, a carpenter, who has campaigned for her release and sought to raise awareness of the crisis engulfing the Southeast Asian nation. "Hearing her voice has reassured me." Khaing Khaing Soe, a spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed president, said on social media that Aris spoke with Suu Kyi by telephone through Myanmar's Embassy in London, and shared separate photographs of the two.
Until now, Aris said he had received almost no word from her — just a single censored letter three years ago and occasional second-hand scraps of information. From the call, he said he learned she is being held at "a residence" somewhere in the surroundings of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw. He also said he believes police and military personnel surround the building, which is "fenced off, with a scrubby, nondescript garden which I believe she is allowed to go out into." "From what I can ascertain, she's basically being held in solitary confinement even if she's not in a prison cell," Aris said.
She was permitted to read books, he said, adding, "I don't think she gets any news. So no radio, no television, no newspapers." Her health has long been a worry for the family. While she "sounded strong," Aris said, "she is still in a lot of pain because her hand is playing up." She told him she has tendonitis.
"She said it is very painful, and at points she can't even use her hand." She also said she gets a health checkup every six months. He believes food is cooked at the residence and sometimes delivered by her lawyers, though not directly to the premises. Aris said he hopes to send her care packages, and she had a request.
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