Detained Myanmar leader met by Red Cross for first contact since ousting of gov't in coup

Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with an ICRC representative on Monday, her first foreign contact since the 2021 coup. The 81-year-old Nobel laureate has been in detention since the military ousted her government. The meeting, announced by a government spokeswoman, comes amid concerns over her health. Reuters could not independently verify the details.

Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday, August 3, 2026, in the capital Naypyitaw, according to a government spokeswoman. This marks her first contact with a foreign envoy since the military coup in February 2021, which ousted her elected government. The 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has been in detention since then, with her whereabouts and health largely unknown. The meeting was with Arnaud de Baecque, the ICRC's resident representative to Myanmar. Government spokeswoman Khine Khine Soe announced the meeting via Telegram and provided photographs, which Reuters could not independently verify. Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence on charges her allies say are politically motivated. In late April, she was moved to house arrest, and her sentence was commuted by one-sixth as part of an amnesty. The new military-backed administration has been reluctant to grant access to her, including a May request by the Philippines for an ASEAN envoy to meet her. The junta said in December that she is in good health, but her son has expressed fears she could die without him knowing.