Leaders in the West must demand Suu Kyi's release

The military junta that rules Myanmar has done all it can to bury this political prisoner alive

- Peter Popham

Aung San Suu Kyi is sick. Reliable sources report that Myanmar's former state counsellor, 80, has a heart condition that is worsening. She has asked to see a cardiologist, a request that has so far been denied.

The junta that rules Myanmar has done all it can to bury her alive, to shut her up permanently. She is held in solitary confinement in a jungle jail near the capital, Naypyidaw. During the several show trials she has faced, in which she has been convicted of obscure crimes including illegally importing walkie-talkies and breaking the Official Secrets Act, she has only appeared via video link. Her 80th birthday in July this year came and went with no concessions to her advancing age.

In February, on the fourth anniversary of the coup that brought an end to Myanmar's five-year taste of partial democracy, UK foreign secretary David Lammy told the junta, "Release Aung San Suu Kyi. Release all those arbitrarily detained. Give Myanmar's people the peace and democracy they deserve."