Trial is illegal: counsel

This is a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi's legal counsel in the US, Jared Genser, detailing why Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is illegal under international as well as Burmese law-

According to news reports (e.g., below), Burmese Police Brigadier General Myint Thein claimed to journalists and diplomats attending DASSK's trial today that it could place her back under house arrest for an additional six months under Burmese law.

Helpfully, this claim has already been considered and rejected by the UNWorking Group on Arbitrary Detention, which is part of the UN Human Rights Council. See Opinion 46/2008, attached and excerpted here (above).

First, the UN concluded that the maximum a person can be held underBurma's State Protection Law is five years, not six years:"A plain reading of the 1975 State Protection Law clearly shows thatsuch extensions were only permissible until late May 2008 . . .Therefore the most recent extension on 28 May 2008 amounts to a primaefacie violation of the Union of Myanmar's own laws" (Paragraph 13).

And second, even if it hadn't reached the first conclusion, the UN also prospectively considered the junta's argument that the order restraining Ms. Suu Kyi was only issued on 28 November 2003 and that it might suggest it could keep her under house arrest an extra six months:"Nevertheless, even if such an argument were made, it would be invalid. The 1975 State Protection Law is unclear as to whether detention begins when a person is arrested or the moment that an order is issued. The act defines 'commit,' 'central board', and 'person against whom actions is taken' but not 'detain.'

It would be inconsistent with basic principles of rule of law for a detention to begin only when an order isissued under this law and not when a person's liberty or freedom of movement is restricted. Ms. Suu Kyi's movement has been forcibly restricted . . . since 30 May 2003, and [she] was due to be released, inaccordance with domestic law, no later than 30 May 2008" (Paragraph 14).