Red Cross visits Aung San Suu Kyi after Myanmar military pushed to prove she is alive
✓Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed.
The meeting on Monday followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021.
Little has been seen or heard of Aung San Suu Kyi since late 2022. Myanmar’s military-backed administrations have repeatedly claimed she is in “good health”, even as international pressure has grown on the country’s government to allow independent verification.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, who had recently demanded the ruling junta provide proof of life, welcomed news of the meeting. He described it as “the first positive development concerning her in more than five years”, adding: “This is an important first step, but it must not be the last,.”
In a social media post, Aris said he hoped the meeting would lead to “greater humanitarian access, direct contact with my mother, credible and independently verified information about her wellbeing, and ultimately her immediate and unconditional release, together with all political prisoners”.
On Monday, Arnaud de Baecque, the resident representative of the ICRC to Myanmar, visited Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital, Naypyidaw, the government spokesperson Khine Khine Soe said in a post on Telegram.
In two of the four photographs provided by Khine Khine Soe, Aung San Suu Kyi – dressed in traditional Burmese attire – is seen with Baecque in a sparsely furnished, wood-panelled room containing only two chairs and a desk.
In another photo, Myanmar’s former leader is seen cutting a birthday cake inscribed with her name. A clothes rack and storage boxes are visible in the background.
A fourth image is a closeup of the cake, inscribed with “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu 19.6.2026”.
In a statement released afterwards, the ICRC confirmed the visit had occurred and was carried out in accordance with its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty, including the opportunity to speak with Aung San Suu Kyi in private.
“In line with the ICRC’s working methods, detention visits provide people deprived of liberty with the opportunity to exchange news with their families,” the statement said.
“As is customary in the ICRC’s detention work, observations and recommendations related to the visit are shared exclusively and confidentially with the detaining authorities.”
In late April, after a military-engineered election that allowed the former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to become Myanmar’s president, authorities said Aung San Suu Kyi had been moved to house arrest.
A photograph of the detained former leader was shown on military-controlled TV, however Aris told the BBC the image was taken years ago.
While the election was largely criticised as a sham, it has led to diplomatic re-engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Following a meeting between Myanmar’s foreign minister and counterparts from the regional Asean bloc in Bangkok in July, Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, called for access to Aung San Suu Kyi “so that we can be able to verify the claims” of her good health.
But the new military-backed administration had so far been reluctant to provide access to Aung San Suu Kyi, including a May request by the Philippines to allow an Asean special envoy to visit her.
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Aung San Suu Kyi, the 81-year-old detained former leader of Myanmar, received a visit from an International Committee of the Red Cross representative on Monday. This marks her first confirmed contact with a foreign visitor since Myanmar's military coup in February 2021. The visit occurred in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's capital. Myanmar's government released photographs of the meeting, including images of Suu Kyi with the ICRC representative and at a birthday celebration. The ICRC confirmed the visit took place according to its standard procedures for detention monitoring and stated it had the opportunity to speak with Suu Kyi privately. Suu Kyi's son, Kim Aris, described the meeting as an important first development but noted it must lead to further access, independent health verification, and her release. International pressure for proof of her wellbeing has grown over years in which little has been publicly known about her condition.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗ · NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Sky News ↗
Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed.
The meeting on Monday followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021.
Little has been seen or heard of Aung San Suu Kyi since late 2022. Myanmar’s military-backed administrations have repeatedly claimed she is in “good health”, even as international pressure has grown on the country’s government to allow independent verification.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, who had recently demanded the ruling junta provide proof of life, welcomed news of the meeting. He described it as “the first positive development concerning her in more than five years”, adding: “This is an important first step, but it must not be the last,.”
In a social media post, Aris said he hoped the meeting would lead to “greater humanitarian access, direct contact with my mother, credible and independently verified information about her wellbeing, and ultimately her immediate and unconditional release, together with all political prisoners”.
On Monday, Arnaud de Baecque, the resident representative of the ICRC to Myanmar, visited Aung San Suu Kyi in the capital, Naypyidaw, the government spokesperson Khine Khine Soe said in a post on Telegram.
In two of the four photographs provided by Khine Khine Soe, Aung San Suu Kyi – dressed in traditional Burmese attire – is seen with Baecque in a sparsely furnished, wood-panelled room containing only two chairs and a desk.
In another photo, Myanmar’s former leader is seen cutting a birthday cake inscribed with her name. A clothes rack and storage boxes are visible in the background.
A fourth image is a closeup of the cake, inscribed with “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu 19.6.2026”.
In a statement released afterwards, the ICRC confirmed the visit had occurred and was carried out in accordance with its standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty, including the opportunity to speak with Aung San Suu Kyi in private.
“In line with the ICRC’s working methods, detention visits provide people deprived of liberty with the opportunity to exchange news with their families,” the statement said.
“As is customary in the ICRC’s detention work, observations and recommendations related to the visit are shared exclusively and confidentially with the detaining authorities.”
In late April, after a military-engineered election that allowed the former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to become Myanmar’s president, authorities said Aung San Suu Kyi had been moved to house arrest.
A photograph of the detained former leader was shown on military-controlled TV, however Aris told the BBC the image was taken years ago.
While the election was largely criticised as a sham, it has led to diplomatic re-engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Following a meeting between Myanmar’s foreign minister and counterparts from the regional Asean bloc in Bangkok in July, Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, called for access to Aung San Suu Kyi “so that we can be able to verify the claims” of her good health.
But the new military-backed administration had so far been reluctant to provide access to Aung San Suu Kyi, including a May request by the Philippines to allow an Asean special envoy to visit her.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗ · NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Sky News ↗
Aung San Suu Kyi met an International Committee of the Red Cross representative on Monday in Naypyidaw She is 81 years old and was detained when Myanmar's military ousted her elected civilian government in February 2021 This was her first confirmed foreign contact since the coup Little has been seen or heard of Aung San Suu Kyi since late 2022 Myanmar's military-backed administrations have repeatedly claimed she is in good health Her son Kim Aris had recently demanded the ruling junta provide proof of life Aris welcomed the ICRC visit as the first positive development concerning his mother in more than five years Myanmar authorities provided four photographs showing the ICRC representative, Suu Kyi in traditional dress, and birthday cake imagery The ICRC confirmed it spoke with Suu Kyi privately and shares observations only confidentially with detaining authorities In late April, authorities said Suu Kyi had been moved to house arrest following a military-engineered election Aris told the BBC that a photograph released by military authorities in April was taken years ago Thailand's foreign minister called for access to Suu Kyi to verify claims of her good health Myanmar's military-backed administration had been reluctant to provide access, including declining a May Asean envoy request
Read the full story at Al Jazeera ↗ · Al Jazeera ↗ · BBC ↗ · NPR ↗ · The Guardian ↗ · Sky News ↗
- Aung San Suu Kyi met an International Committee of the Red Cross representative on Monday in Naypyidaw, her first confirmed foreign contact since 2021
- The 81-year-old Myanmar leader has been detained since the February 2021 military coup, with little public information about her since late 2022
- Her son welcomed the ICRC visit as a first step but called for greater access, independent verification, and her release
- Myanmar authorities provided photographs of the meeting, including one showing Suu Kyi at a birthday celebration
- The ICRC confirmed the visit occurred and said it spoke with Suu Kyi privately, though it shares observations only with detaining authorities