Aung San Suu Kyi’s son speaks to her for first time in five years, says she is fairly healthy

The son of Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi said she sounded “fairly healthy” after speaking to her by telephone on Thursday, 22 October, in their first conversation in more than five years.

Kim Aris, who lives in the United Kingdom, said the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate told him she was in good health, although he remained concerned about her wellbeing as she grows older.

“She was sounding fairly healthy,” Aris said after the call. “She was able to say she was in good health, but being 81, things aren’t getting any better.”

The 20-minute conversation was arranged through Myanmar’s authorities, who said it took place as a consular telephone call.

Photographs released by the presidential spokesperson showed Suu Kyi and her son speaking into telephones, with Suu Kyi seated beneath a calendar displaying the date.

Aris said the conversation focused on family matters because both understood that the call would be recorded.

“We knew the phone call would be recorded, so we didn’t talk about anything sensitive,” he said.

He added that his mother’s first concern had been the health of her family.

“She was most concerned about my health and the rest of the family: that was her first question, if I was well,” he said.

In a social media post after the conversation, Aris wrote: “Hearing her voice again means more than words can express.” He called his mother’s detention unjust and urged supporters to continue campaigning for her release.

“My mother and all political prisoners must be released immediately and unconditionally. Freedom is not negotiable,” he wrote.

Suu Kyi has been detained since Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021, removing her elected government and ending a decade-long period of limited democratic rule.

Myanmar authorities confirm the call

Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the telephone conversation took place on 22 October, from 2.30pm to 2.50pm local time, through the country’s embassy in London.

In a statement, the ministry said the call had been permitted on humanitarian grounds and under the authority of President Min Aung Hlaing. It described the conversation as a special measure facilitated in accordance with procedures associated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The government has released few details about Suu Kyi’s condition and circumstances since she was detained following the military coup in February 2021.

Authorities said in April 2026 that she had been moved from Naypyidaw prison to a designated residence to serve the remainder of her sentence. She remains in detention under house arrest.

Suu Kyi was sentenced on a range of charges, including corruption and election-related offences, which she has denied. Her total sentence was reduced through subsequent military-authority amnesties and is reported to stand at 18 years.

The military takeover prompted mass protests and the emergence of armed resistance movements, escalating into a nationwide conflict that has displaced millions of people.

King Charles’ package preceded the telephone call

The conversation with Aris followed another rare update about Suu Kyi’s circumstances earlier in the week.

On 19 October, Myanmar authorities released photographs showing Suu Kyi receiving a package from Britain’s King Charles III. According to the presidential spokesperson, Home Affairs Ministry officials delivered two books about soil, a sealed envelope and sealed diplomatic correspondence from the British monarch.

The books were The Land Gardeners: Soil to Table and Soil: The World at Our Feet. Buckingham Palace declined to comment publicly on the announcement about the package.

The photographs were the first publicly released images of Suu Kyi in approximately two months. In August, authorities had published images of her meeting an ICRC representative, Arnaud De Baecque, the organisation’s head of delegation in Myanmar.

The government said the meeting with the ICRC representative took place on 3 August. It was a rare opportunity for an international humanitarian organisation to make contact with the detained former leader after years of limited independent information about her condition.

Aris welcomed the news that his mother had received the books but has continued to call for her release. He has also warned against allowing individual gestures of contact to be treated as a substitute for her freedom or regular access to her family.

Questions over Myanmar’s international standing

The developments have come as Myanmar’s military-backed leadership seeks to restore relations with foreign governments following years of diplomatic isolation.

Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup, became president in April 2026 after an election held under military rule. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 2020 general election, was excluded from the political process after the authorities dissolved the party.

The election was criticised by democracy advocates and international observers, who questioned its inclusiveness and credibility.

Morgan Michaels, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Myanmar’s authorities were using contact with Suu Kyi to seek concessions from the international community.

“Many within ASEAN and beyond want to see her release,” he said, according to the South China Morning Post. He added that gestures allowing contact with her could be welcomed even if their motivation was tactical.

Myanmar’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been strained since the coup. The bloc has pressed for progress on its Five-Point Consensus, a plan calling for an end to violence, dialogue among parties, humanitarian assistance and the appointment of an ASEAN special envoy.

The military authorities have not implemented the plan in full. ASEAN has restricted the participation of Myanmar’s military and political leadership in high-level meetings, allowing non-political representatives to attend instead.

Supporters continue to call for her release

The telephone conversation has offered Suu Kyi’s family and supporters a direct update after years of uncertainty, but Aris said it did not resolve his concerns about her treatment.

He has urged the authorities to allow regular contact and called for the release of his mother and other political prisoners.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggle for democracy, spent years under house arrest during earlier periods of military rule. She became Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader after the NLD won the 2015 election, although the military retained significant constitutional powers.

Her government was removed in the February 2021 coup, which prompted protests and a broader armed conflict. The continuing fighting has created a major humanitarian crisis, with large numbers of people displaced and widespread restrictions on political activity.

A former senior NLD member, speaking anonymously for security reasons, told the South China Morning Post that dialogue remained necessary to resolve the country’s crisis.

“We have only one way and that is dialogue,” the former party member said. “For the sake of the people and the country, they have to meet.”

Aris has said he wants his mother to be free and able to reunite with her family. While the latest call allowed them to speak directly for the first time in more than five years, Myanmar’s authorities have not announced any plan to release her.