A Myanmar junta court on Monday postponed giving its verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi's trial for illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies, a source with knowledge of the case said.

The Nobel laureate has been detained since the generals staged a coup against her government on February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.

Nationwide protests against the putsch have been met with a bloody crackdown, with more than 1,300 people killed and over 11,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

Suu Kyi, 76, was due to hear the verdict on charges she illegally imported and possessed walkie-talkies -- the latest in a catalogue of judgements in a junta court that could see her jailed for the rest of her life.

But the judge adjourned the case until December 27 without explanation, a source with knowledge of the case told AFP.

Earlier this month, she was jailed for four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid restrictions, in a ruling that was widely condemned by the international community.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing later commuted the term to two years and said she would serve her sentence under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw.

Suu Kyi could had faced three years in prison if found guilty on the walkie-talkie charges, which stem from the early hours of the coup when soldiers and police raided her house and allegedly found her in possession of the contraband equipment.

Under cross-examination, members of the raiding party admitted they had not possessed a search warrant for the raid, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Suu Kyi is also charged with multiple counts of corruption -- each of which is punishable by 15 years in jail -- and violating the official secrets act.

Journalists have been barred from attending the special court hearings in Naypyidaw and her lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media.

- Incommunicado -

Suu Kyi's long spells of house arrest under a previous junta were spent at her family's colonial-era mansion in Yangon, where she would appear before thousands gathered on the other side of her garden fence.

Min Aung Hlaing's regime has confined her to an undisclosed location in the capital, with her link to the outside world limited to brief pre-trial meetings with her lawyers.

The junta has also threatened to dissolve her National League for Democracy, citing alleged fraud in 2020 elections that international observers said were largely free and fair.

A junta-appointed election commission investigating allegations of fraud during the polls is due to report its findings in early 2022, the information minister told a press conference earlier this month.

In recent weeks, other senior members of the NLD have received long sentences.

A former chief minister was sentenced to 75 years in jail, while a close Suu Kyi aide was jailed for 20.

UN agency calls for 'urgent access' to Myanmar refugees
Bangkok (AFP) Dec 20, 2021 - The UN's refugee agency on Monday called for Thailand to allow them "urgent access" to more than 3,000 Myanmar refugees who fled to the kingdom to escape fighting in conflict-wracked Karen state.

Clashes between Myanmar's military and the Karen National Union -- a rebel group vocally opposed to a junta which deposed a civilian government in February -- broke out last week in a town not far from the Thai border.

Some 700 refugees crossed the river into Thailand's Tak province on Thursday, fleeing artillery shelling and small arms fire. By Monday, the number had ballooned to 3,900 due to continued fighting, the UNHCR said.

"UNHCR is concerned for the welfare of these civilians and has approached the Thai authorities with offers of assistance," it said in a statement.

"UNHCR and NGOs have requested urgent access to the refugees to ascertain and deliver to them the necessary humanitarian and protection assistance."

Provincial authorities said late Monday about 3,500 refugees remain in two locations on the Thai side, as dozens have gradually returned since fighting appeared to have ceased.

"Thai authorities are providing humanitarian assistance and transportation for those who volunteer to return to Myanmar by transporting them from the banks of Moei River," said a statement released by Tak province.

But Naw K'Nyay Paw, general secretary of Karen Women's Organisation, said the majority of people are still afraid.

"It's very tense and the fighting is still continuing in some areas," she told AFP. "I don't think it is representing the true feelings of the refugees."

The latest wave of some 1,500 people on Sunday came after renewed fighting broke out in Mae Htaw Thalay, a town bordering Thailand where displaced people were sheltering.

"There was artillery shooting in the area... The KNU tried to move them to a safer place," a Karen state resident told AFP, adding that thousands of displaced people, including children, were sent running as the shelling continued for hours.

"We heard shooting close to us and we tried to flee... We could only leave the village after they suspended shooting for a while around 7pm," he said.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun confirmed the fighting in Mae Htaw Thalay on Monday, adding that the military are now "trying to control the situation by negotiating with KNU."

The clashes kicked off last week after state media reported junta troops entered KNU territory and arrested several dissidents, including a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi's ousted government.

The rebel group -- one of more than 20 ethnic armed groups holding territories in Myanmar's border regions -- has been a staunch opponent of the junta, providing shelter to anti-coup dissidents.

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Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

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Record 488 journalists imprisoned, 46 killed in 2021: RSF
Paris (AFP) Dec 16, 2021
There are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world, the highest number since Reporters Without Borders began counting more than 25 years ago, the NGO announced Thursday. By contrast, the number killed this year - 46 - was the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilisation of conflicts in the Middle East. "The number of journalists detained in connection with their work has never been this high since RSF began publishing its annual round-up ... read more