Australia has joined the US in calling for the release of Myanmar's deposed democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been sentenced to at least two years in detention.
"The sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi is deeply concerning," a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.
"Australia continues to call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained in Myanmar, and for a return to the path of democratic transition as soon as possible.
"Australia has been a longstanding supporter of Myanmar and its democratic transition."
A court in military-ruled Myanmar sentenced Ms Suu Kyi to four years in detention on Monday on charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions.
State television later said the sentence had been reduced to two years in a partial pardon.
Former president Win Myint was also jailed for four years on the same charges, he said, but added they would not yet be taken to prison.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing later "pardoned" the sentences of both to "two years imprisonment", according to a statement read out on state TV.
The United States led international condemnation, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling the convictions "unjust" and "affronts to democracy and justice".
"We urge the regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unjustly detained," he said in a statement.
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the conviction "following a sham trial in secretive proceedings before a military-controlled court is nothing but politically-motivated".
The Nobel Committee said it was "concerned" for the 1981 Peace Prize laureate, saying it feared the consequences "for the future of democracy in Myanmar" but also the "impact a long prison term may have on Aung San Suu Kyi personally".
Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals staged a coup and ousted her government on 1 February, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.
Her incitement conviction related to statements her National League for Democracy (NLD) party published shortly after the coup condemning the generals' takeover.
The COVID-19 charge is linked to last year's election, which the NLD won in a landslide, but the details are not clear with the government imposing a gag order on the court proceedings.
In recent weeks, the trials of other ranking members of Suu Kyi's NLD have wrapped up, with the junta handing out harsh sentences.
A former chief minister was sentenced to 75 years in jail this month, while a close Suu Kyi aide was jailed for 20.
On Monday evening, residents in parts of commercial capital Yangon banged pots and pans, a practice traditionally associated with driving out evil spirits but which has been used since February to show dissent against the military.
Suu Kyi also faces multiple corruption charges - each of which carries a possible sentence of 15 years in prison.
The verdict was on "the soft charges which the regime could have spared her, but chose not to," independent analyst Soe Myint Aung, told AFP.
"The military seems to have doubled down on its highly oppressive approach toward the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi herself."
The military, which has dominated life in Myanmar for decades, has defended its coup, claiming fraud allegations in last year's general election.
