'The Myanmar authorities will hope that a sentence that is shorter than the maximum will be seen by the international community as an act of leniency. But it is not, and must not be seen as such, especially by ASEAN or the UN,' said Khan.

'Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for over 13 of the past 20 years but should never have been arrested in the first place. The only issue here is her immediate and unconditional release,' said Khan.

'Her arrest and trial and now this guilty verdict are nothing more than legal and political theatre.'

Amnesty International also noted that Suu Kyi is one of more than 2,150 political prisoners in Myanmar.

The human rights group said the verdict comes in the midst of ongoing human rights violations by the military against ethnic minority civilians.

In early June, the Myanmar army staged attacks and took Karen civilians for forced labour in Kayin State, resulting in over 3,500 refugees fleeing to Thailand.