 There have been international calls for Ms Suu Kyi's release |
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.
The EU presidency said it would impose "additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict".
Myint Myint Aye, of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said it did not accept the verdict, adding: "We demand her immediate unconditional release and we will keep on pressing."
Tight security
Journalists had unexpectedly been allowed to enter the court in Rangoon's Insein prison shortly before the sentence was announced.
|  I am disappointed that they have found her guilty  Anifah Aman, Malaysian Foreign Minister  |
The courtroom was initially told that Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour.
But after a five-minute recess, Burma's home minister entered the courtroom and read out a special order from the country's military ruler Than Shwe that reduced the sentence to 18 months and said it could be served under house arrest.
There was tight security around the prison, with security forces sealing off the area.
The trial has brought international condemnation, with critics accusing Burma's military government of trying to keep Ms Suu Kyi out of next year's planned multi-party elections.
 Than Shwe reduced Ms Suu Kyi's sentence from three years |
The NLD won the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.
Mr Yettaw, 54, swam to Ms Suu Kyi's lakeside house in Rangoon uninvited and stayed there for two nights in May.
As a result, Ms Suu Kyi was accused of breaching the terms of her house arrest.
Mr Yettaw, of Falcon, Missouri, is believed to have epilepsy, diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder and has been treated at a Rangoon hospital.
He was sentenced to three years in prison for breaching Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest, three years with hard labour for an immigration offence and another one-year term with hard labour for swimming in a restricted zone.
It was not clear if the prison terms would be served concurrently.
Reports say he was discharged from hospital on Monday night after a week of treatment for epileptic seizures.
No comments:
Post a Comment