From the Australian via AFP-
Aung San Suu Kyi verdict delayed
From correspondents in Rangoon, Burma July 31, 2009
Article from: Agence France-Presse
A COURT in military-ruled Burma has postponed the verdict in the case of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi until August 11, her lawyers and diplomats say.
"The verdict date is now August 11. The reason the judges gave is that they have to review the case again,'' said a foreign diplomat who attended today's brief hearing at Rangoon's notorious Insein prison.
Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win confirmed the postponement.
"The court said they have to consider legal problems, that's why they said they will give the verdict on August 11,'' Nyan Win, who is also the spokesman for her National League for Democracy, said.
"We are not surprised. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was also not surprised,'' he said.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Police mass in Rangoon
From AP-
Myanmar police ring court ahead of Suu Kyi verdict
(AP)
YANGON, Myanmar — Riot police sealed off the court trying Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in military-run Myanmar ahead of Friday's verdict that could send the frail icon of democracy to prison for up to five years.
The 64-year-old opposition leader is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an American man who swam to her house uninvited.
Security was heightened for the high-profile verdict, with teams of riot police stationed nearby and all roads leading to the prison blocked by barbed-wire barricades.
Suu Kyi's lawyers remained cautiously hopeful as they headed into the tightly guarded court at Insein Prison.
"The charges against our client are not strong and we are confident that we will win if things go according to the law," said lawyer Nyan Win, who said a day earlier that Suu Kyi was "preparing for the worst" and stocking up on medicine and reading material in case she is sent to prison.
Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her lengthy house arrest when an American intruder swam across a lake and spent two nights at her home in May. Her trial has drawn international condemnation since it opened May 18 and many critics see it as a pretext to keeping her behind bars through the country's planned elections next year.
She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail. Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years, since leading a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 that was crushed by Myanmar's military junta.
A verdict will also be given Friday for the uninvited American visitor, John Yettaw, 53, and two women who lived with Suu Kyi — Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Ma Ma — and face charges similar to hers. Yettaw is charged as an abettor in violating her house arrest and faces up to five years in prison.
If convicted, the charismatic mother of two will return to an isolated life, her days filled with meditation, reading books and getting the occasional censored letters. Knowing she could be put behind bars, Suu Kyi provided her lawyers with a list of requested items, which they were able to bring her, Nyan Win said.
"She is collecting some medicine and many books in English, French and Burmese," he said.
Suu Kyi's lawyers have not contested the basic facts of the case but argued that the law used by authorities against her is invalid because it applies to a constitution abolished two decades ago. They also say that government security guards stationed outside Suu Kyi's compound should be held responsible for any intrusion.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he hopes the government will respond to his repeated appeals to free Suu Kyi.
But neither outside pressure nor the possibility of better economic and political ties with the West has deterred the ruling junta, which appears determined to find Suu Kyi out of the public eye.
Suu Kyi's party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to relinquish power. Next year's promised elections will be the first in two decades.
Myanmar police ring court ahead of Suu Kyi verdict
(AP)
YANGON, Myanmar — Riot police sealed off the court trying Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in military-run Myanmar ahead of Friday's verdict that could send the frail icon of democracy to prison for up to five years.
The 64-year-old opposition leader is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an American man who swam to her house uninvited.
Security was heightened for the high-profile verdict, with teams of riot police stationed nearby and all roads leading to the prison blocked by barbed-wire barricades.
Suu Kyi's lawyers remained cautiously hopeful as they headed into the tightly guarded court at Insein Prison.
"The charges against our client are not strong and we are confident that we will win if things go according to the law," said lawyer Nyan Win, who said a day earlier that Suu Kyi was "preparing for the worst" and stocking up on medicine and reading material in case she is sent to prison.
Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her lengthy house arrest when an American intruder swam across a lake and spent two nights at her home in May. Her trial has drawn international condemnation since it opened May 18 and many critics see it as a pretext to keeping her behind bars through the country's planned elections next year.
She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in jail. Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years, since leading a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 that was crushed by Myanmar's military junta.
A verdict will also be given Friday for the uninvited American visitor, John Yettaw, 53, and two women who lived with Suu Kyi — Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Ma Ma — and face charges similar to hers. Yettaw is charged as an abettor in violating her house arrest and faces up to five years in prison.
If convicted, the charismatic mother of two will return to an isolated life, her days filled with meditation, reading books and getting the occasional censored letters. Knowing she could be put behind bars, Suu Kyi provided her lawyers with a list of requested items, which they were able to bring her, Nyan Win said.
"She is collecting some medicine and many books in English, French and Burmese," he said.
Suu Kyi's lawyers have not contested the basic facts of the case but argued that the law used by authorities against her is invalid because it applies to a constitution abolished two decades ago. They also say that government security guards stationed outside Suu Kyi's compound should be held responsible for any intrusion.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he hopes the government will respond to his repeated appeals to free Suu Kyi.
But neither outside pressure nor the possibility of better economic and political ties with the West has deterred the ruling junta, which appears determined to find Suu Kyi out of the public eye.
Suu Kyi's party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to relinquish power. Next year's promised elections will be the first in two decades.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tight Security around Insein
From The Irrawaddy (edited)-
Security Increased for Suu Kyi Verdict
By SAW YAN NAING
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Security was strengthened around Insein Prison in Rangoon on Wednesday morning, and shopkeepers nearby have been ordered to close on Friday, the day the verdict is scheduled in the trial of detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Two police battalions have joined security forces stationed around the prison in preparation for a possible crackdown on protests, according to the sources in Rangoon, who said the authorities were worried about possible protests.
Riot police officers stand guard at a check point on the approach road leading to the main entrance of Insein Prison. Dozens of Suu Kyi’s supporters have regularly gathered outside Insein Prison on each day of the trial.
Prominent opposition leader Win Tin, an executive of the opposition National League for Democracy, has joined the gatherings.
On Tuesday, Win Tin said he went outside Insein Prison and stayed for about 40 minutes to show his support for his colleague, Suu Kyi.
The final arguments for Suu Kyi’s trial ended on Tuesday, and the verdict is to be announced on Friday.
Diplomats said they heard Suu Kyi comment, “I'm afraid the verdict will be painfully obvious,” in court, according to an Associated Press report.
After Tuesday’s final session, Suu Kyi told her lawyer, Nyan Win, that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country.”
Security Increased for Suu Kyi Verdict
By SAW YAN NAING
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Security was strengthened around Insein Prison in Rangoon on Wednesday morning, and shopkeepers nearby have been ordered to close on Friday, the day the verdict is scheduled in the trial of detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Two police battalions have joined security forces stationed around the prison in preparation for a possible crackdown on protests, according to the sources in Rangoon, who said the authorities were worried about possible protests.
Riot police officers stand guard at a check point on the approach road leading to the main entrance of Insein Prison. Dozens of Suu Kyi’s supporters have regularly gathered outside Insein Prison on each day of the trial.
Prominent opposition leader Win Tin, an executive of the opposition National League for Democracy, has joined the gatherings.
On Tuesday, Win Tin said he went outside Insein Prison and stayed for about 40 minutes to show his support for his colleague, Suu Kyi.
The final arguments for Suu Kyi’s trial ended on Tuesday, and the verdict is to be announced on Friday.
Diplomats said they heard Suu Kyi comment, “I'm afraid the verdict will be painfully obvious,” in court, according to an Associated Press report.
After Tuesday’s final session, Suu Kyi told her lawyer, Nyan Win, that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country.”
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Verdict expected Friday
From the Guardian-
Aung San Suu Kyi verdict due on Friday
Trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader, facing up to five years in jail, comes to end
The trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ended today with the judge announcing he will deliver his verdict by the end of the week.
The Nobel peace prize laureate is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American man to spend two nights at her home in May. She faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Last-ditch attempts to call Nyunt Maung Shein, Burma's former ambassador to the UN, to testify in court were rejected.
Government officials and diplomats said the judge, Thaung Nyunt, had ended the trial and announced there would be a ruling on Friday. There has been little word yet on today's proceedings. The media have been banned from the most of the trial, although diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend today.
An official told Reuters that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial had been completed, but cases against three other defendants were continuing.
"We have done our best and she is prepared for the worst," her lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters. "We don't want to speculate, but we will keep exploring all legal avenues."
The end of the trial came as Amnesty International awarded Aung San Suu Kyi its highest accolade, the title of ambassador of conscience, for leading the democracy struggle in Burma.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defence of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world," Amnesty's secretary general, Irene Khan, said.
The rock band U2 was due to announce the award at a concert in Dublin last night.
John Yettaw, a Vietnam veteran who was described by his wife as eccentric, said he swam across a lake to her home because he wanted to warn her that she was about to be assassinated by "terrorists".
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, pleaded with Yettaw to leave and relented only after he claimed to be too ill to swim back.
Reports said Yettaw's lawyer was due to defend his client against charges of trespassing, which carries a sentence of up to three months in prison.
Khin Maung Oo said at the weekend that he would attempt to win Yettaw, 53, a lenient sentence. "I will try my best to defend my client. I will argue that he did not violate the restriction order and I will try my utmost to get him lesser punishment," he said.
Critics have denounced the trial as an excuse by Burma's ruling military junta to keep Aung San Suu Kyi incarcerated during national elections due next year.
Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in elections in 1990, but the ruling generals refused to recognise the result.
The junta has so far resisted international calls for her immediate release. Last week, the state-controlled media accused the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, of "interference" after she said a satisfactory conclusion to the trial could lead to better economic ties with Washington.
The defence does not deny that Yettaw visited Aung San Suu Kyi's compound, but argues that she cannot be charged under laws abolished in 1988. It blames her bodyguards for failing to apprehend Yettaw, who remained undetected for several hours
Aung San Suu Kyi verdict due on Friday
Trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader, facing up to five years in jail, comes to end
The trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi ended today with the judge announcing he will deliver his verdict by the end of the week.
The Nobel peace prize laureate is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American man to spend two nights at her home in May. She faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Last-ditch attempts to call Nyunt Maung Shein, Burma's former ambassador to the UN, to testify in court were rejected.
Government officials and diplomats said the judge, Thaung Nyunt, had ended the trial and announced there would be a ruling on Friday. There has been little word yet on today's proceedings. The media have been banned from the most of the trial, although diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend today.
An official told Reuters that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial had been completed, but cases against three other defendants were continuing.
"We have done our best and she is prepared for the worst," her lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters. "We don't want to speculate, but we will keep exploring all legal avenues."
The end of the trial came as Amnesty International awarded Aung San Suu Kyi its highest accolade, the title of ambassador of conscience, for leading the democracy struggle in Burma.
"Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defence of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world," Amnesty's secretary general, Irene Khan, said.
The rock band U2 was due to announce the award at a concert in Dublin last night.
John Yettaw, a Vietnam veteran who was described by his wife as eccentric, said he swam across a lake to her home because he wanted to warn her that she was about to be assassinated by "terrorists".
Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, pleaded with Yettaw to leave and relented only after he claimed to be too ill to swim back.
Reports said Yettaw's lawyer was due to defend his client against charges of trespassing, which carries a sentence of up to three months in prison.
Khin Maung Oo said at the weekend that he would attempt to win Yettaw, 53, a lenient sentence. "I will try my best to defend my client. I will argue that he did not violate the restriction order and I will try my utmost to get him lesser punishment," he said.
Critics have denounced the trial as an excuse by Burma's ruling military junta to keep Aung San Suu Kyi incarcerated during national elections due next year.
Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in elections in 1990, but the ruling generals refused to recognise the result.
The junta has so far resisted international calls for her immediate release. Last week, the state-controlled media accused the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, of "interference" after she said a satisfactory conclusion to the trial could lead to better economic ties with Washington.
The defence does not deny that Yettaw visited Aung San Suu Kyi's compound, but argues that she cannot be charged under laws abolished in 1988. It blames her bodyguards for failing to apprehend Yettaw, who remained undetected for several hours
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