Burma court finds Suu Kyi guilty

11 August 2009

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to an additional 18 months' house arrest by a court in Rangoon.
Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, was convicted of violating state security laws by allowing a US national into her lakeside home after he swam there.
Critics of Burma's military regime say the verdict is designed to prevent her from taking part in elections in 2010.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
American John Yettaw, who was also on trial, was jailed for seven years, four with hard labour.
Ms Suu Kyi, 64, was taken straight back to her home following the end of the trial, officials said.
ANALYSIS
Kate McGeown, BBC News website
Asia-Pacific editor
The fact that the Burmese generals have decided to give Aung San Suu Kyi less than the maximum sentence shows they are willing to compromise, at least to some extent, to the will of the international community.
But at the same time they still have what they really wanted - Aung San Suu Kyi will now be safely out of the way as they prepare for next year's elections.
The opposition leader had denied the charge but said she expected to be convicted.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and angry" by the verdict and described the trial as a "sham".
In a strongly worded statement, Mr Brown said it was "a purely political sentence".
A statement from the office of Nicolas Sarkozy said the French president was calling on the European Union to impose new sanctions on Burma. source: bbc.com

Posted by News Point at 2:55 AM  
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