A special court set up in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional seven years in prison on Friday over corruption charges, local media reported, bringing the total time she faces behind bars to 33 years.

The 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate and icon of opposition to the brutal military rule was tried on five counts of corruption at the court set up inside the prison compound in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw.

The charges were related to the rental, purchase and maintenance of a helicopter bought by her administration under the pretext of disaster relief operations. The junta accused her of bypassing the required scrutiny procedures. She denied any wrongdoing.

Since the military ousted her democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup and put her under house arrest, Suu Kyi has been on trial on a total of 19 criminal charges. She has already been convicted of 14 of the charges and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

==Kyodo