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View all search resultsStill a mystery: Where is Aung San Suu Kyi?
The issue has evolved from a purely humanitarian concern into one of information credibility and international diplomacy.
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A Myanmar protester living in Japan holds a placard of Myanmar's detained former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, during a rally denouncing an upcoming election led by the military junta outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo on Dec. 14, 2025. (Reuters/Issei Kato)
Where is Aung San Suu Kyi?
The question may sound straightforward. Yet, to this day, no one outside Myanmar’s ruling military circle can answer it with certainty.
Suu Kyi, now 81 years old, is believed to remain in the custody of Myanmar’s military junta. However, there is no independent evidence regarding her health, her whereabouts or even whether she is still alive. What concerns the international community is not merely the fate of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar’s former civilian leader, but why such a basic question cannot be independently verified.
The last time Suu Kyi was seen in public was at the conclusion of her trial in 2022. Since then, she has effectively disappeared from public view. Her lawyers are no longer permitted to meet with her. Her family has lost direct contact. Foreign diplomats, the United Nations, ASEAN and independent media have all been denied access. Virtually all information about her has come solely from Myanmar’s military authorities and cannot be independently verified.
This lack of information has prompted her son, Kim Aris, to launch an international campaign. Over recent months, he has met with heads of state, foreign ministers, diplomats and international organizations with one simple request: that Myanmar’s authorities either provide proof that his mother is still alive or allow independent access to verify her condition.
Myanmar’s military government has stated that Suu Kyi was transferred from prison to house arrest on humanitarian grounds. The junta has also maintained that she is in good health and receiving appropriate care. Yet no photographs, videos or face-to-face meetings have been made available to substantiate these claims.
On July 12, Reuters reported that during an informal meeting in Bangkok between ASEAN foreign ministers and Myanmar’s foreign minister, ASEAN Special Envoy Maria Theresa Lazaro requested direct access to verify Suu Kyi’s condition. By the end of the meeting, however, Myanmar’s authorities had once again refused to grant such access.
