Myanmar’s Detained Former Leader Suu Kyi Meets Red Cross Official

Myanmar’s detained former ​leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday, after years of questions over ‌the health and well-being of the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Suu Kyi has been in detention since February 2021 when an elected civilian government led by her was ousted by Myanmar’s military in a dawn coup, plunging the impoverished Southeast Asian nation into turmoil.
Since then, Suu Kyi’s exact whereabouts and health conditions have been difficult to determine, with no foreign leader or envoy having publicly met her.
On ​Monday, Suu Kyi met with Arnaud de Baecque, Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Myanmar in the capital Naypyitaw, government spokeswoman ​Khine Khine Soe said in a message via Telegram.
In a statement, the ICRC confirmed a delegate had met with Suu Kyi, ⁠without naming the official.
“The visit was carried out in accordance with the ICRC’s standards and procedures for visiting people deprived of liberty. This included the opportunity to speak with ​Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in private,” it said, using an honorific for the veteran politician.
Detention visits also provide people deprived of liberty with the opportunity to exchange news ​with their families, the statement added.
In two of the four photographs provided by the government spokeswoman, Suu Kyi, dressed in traditional Burmese attire, is seen meeting with Baecque in a sparsely furnished, wood-paneled room containing only two chairs and a desk.
In another photo, offering a rare glimpse inside what appears to be her residence, Suu Kyi is seen cutting a birthday cake inscribed with her name, ​with a clothes rack and storage boxes visible in the background.
A fourth photograph is a close-up of the cake, inscribed with “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu 19.6.2026”.
Reuters was not able ​to independently verify the location and the date when the pictures were taken. No earlier version of the pictures was found posted online before Monday.