Aung San Suu Kyi’s Health Worsens, Son Demands Urgent Release from “Cruel and Life-Threatening” Detention

London, Sept 2025 : Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from worsening heart problems and urgently needs medical care, her son Kim Aris warned on Friday. In a heartfelt appeal, he called for her immediate release from what he described as “cruel and life-threatening” custody under the military junta.

Suu Kyi, now 80, has been held in military detention since the February 2021 coup that deposed her democratically elected government. Aris said his mother had asked to see a cardiologist about a month ago but it was unclear whether her request had been granted.

“Without proper medical examinations, it is impossible to know what state her heart is in,” Aris told reporters by phone from London. “I am extremely worried. There is no way of verifying if she is even alive.”

Mounting Health Concerns

In addition to heart problems, Suu Kyi has reportedly suffered from bone and gum issues. Aris also suggested she may have sustained injuries during a March earthquake in Myanmar that killed more than 3,700 people. In a Facebook video, he urged the junta to release his mother and all political prisoners held in the country.

The ruling military has downplayed concerns. Spokesman Zaw Min Tun dismissed reports of Suu Kyi’s deteriorating condition, accusing her supporters of spreading “fabricated information” to distract from junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s recent visit to China.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s health is good. They are fabricating this information because our leader is in China carrying out many activities and they want to hide this news,” he said in comments to state media on Saturday evening.

Symbol of Resistance

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military’s 2021 power grab, which sparked massive street protests violently suppressed by security forces and eventually escalated into an armed nationwide resistance movement.

Suu Kyi, long regarded as the face of Myanmar’s pro-democracy struggle, is serving a 27-year sentence on charges including corruption, incitement, and electoral fraud—allegations she and her supporters reject as politically motivated.

One of her last public appearances was in May 2021, when state television showed her in court sitting upright in the dock, masked and with her hands folded in her lap. Since then, she has been kept out of sight, fueling growing concern about her condition.

The military justified the coup by claiming widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) had won by a landslide. Independent observers, however, found no evidence of irregularities.

Elections Without Choice

The junta has announced plans to stage new elections beginning in December, in multiple phases, but the process has already been condemned by rights groups and Western governments. Opposition parties, including Suu Kyi’s NLD, are either barred from participating or have vowed to boycott, leaving only military-approved groups on the ballot. Critics say the polls are designed to cement the generals’ grip on power rather than restore democracy.

A Life of Sacrifice

Born in 1945, Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar’s independence hero General Aung San, who was assassinated when she was just two years old. Educated at Oxford University, she married British academic Michael Aris in 1972 and had two sons before returning to Myanmar in 1988 to care for her ailing mother.

That year, she became a leading figure in nationwide protests against military rule and later co-founded the NLD, quickly rising as Myanmar’s most prominent advocate for democracy. Over the decades, she spent nearly 20 years in detention, including 15 years under house arrest at her family’s lakeside home in Yangon, imposed by a previous junta.

Calls for Release

Foreign governments and human rights organizations have consistently demanded Suu Kyi’s freedom, calling her imprisonment unlawful and inhumane. Her son’s latest warning adds urgency to those appeals, with fears that her health may rapidly deteriorate without specialized treatment.

For many in Myanmar and beyond, Suu Kyi remains both a symbol of resilience and a reminder of the country’s fragile democratic hopes—now once again overshadowed by military rule.