/ 15 May 2009

Burma’s Suu Kyi to face trial for ‘violating house arrest’

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with violating terms of her house arrest and could face a prison sentence of up to five years, her lawyers said on Friday morning.

The Nobel Peace laureate was taken by armed escort to a prison compound where she will be tried in connection with an American man’s entry into her home last week.

Her lawyer, Hla Myo Myint, told reporters that Suu Kyi’s trial was scheduled to start next Monday.

The American man has been charged with entering a restricted zone, and breaking immigration laws. Her lawyers said that Suu Kyi did not invite the man to her compound where she was under house arrest.

The trial could justify another extension of Suu Kyi’s years of detention, which officially ends on 27 May. In the past the junta, which regards her as the biggest threat to their rule, has found reasons to extend her periods of house arrest, which international jurors say is illegal even under Burma’s own law.

The American man, John William Yettaw, was arrested last week for allegedly swimming a lake to secretly enter Suu Kyi’s home and stay there for two days. His motives remain unclear.

”Everyone is very angry with this wretched American. He is the cause of all these problems,” Suu Kyi’s lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. ”He’s a fool.”

Kyi Win quoted Suu Kyi as saying she told the American man to leave her home. The lawyer said that the incident was merely a breach of security in the lakeside area where authorities normally keep close watch over Suu Kyi and her household.

One of many strict rules the junta imposes on citizens is that they must notify local officials about any overnight visitor who is not a family member.

The law also states that foreigners are not allowed to spend the night at a local’s home.

Some members of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, have been jailed for about two weeks for violating that law.

Earlier today, a motorcade accompanied by armed police, drove Suu Kyi and two women who live with her from their lakeside villa to Insein prison. They were escorted into the closely guarded prison through a side gate.

Kyi Win said that Suu Kyi will be held in a house inside the Insein prison compound so she could be close to the courtroom.

The notorious prison holds both common criminals and political prisoners, with international human rights groups alleging that torture and mistreatment of prisoners are common.

American and British diplomats were seen outside the prison gates.

Also to be tried are Suu Kyi’s two helpers, Khin Khin Win (65) and her daughter Win Ma Ma (41) who have lived with her since her current detention began in 2003.

Suu Kyi (63) has already spent more than 13 of the last 19 years including the past six in detention without trial for her non-violent promotion of democracy, despite international pressure for her release.

She has recently been ill, suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure. Her condition improved this week after a visit from a doctor who administered an intravenous drip Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, said.

”Please tell them [reporters] I am well,” her lawyer quoted Suu Kyi as saying. But he added: ”I am very concerned about Suu Kyi’s health, even though she said she is well.”

A US diplomat was allowed to visit Yettaw on Thursday. Burma state television showed a still photo of Yettaw meeting with consular chief Colin Furst.

A US diplomat said the meeting lasted 30 minutes and that Yettaw said he had been treated well.

The TV report said the meeting took place at the Aung Tha-byay police station in Rangoon, which has been used for detention and interrogation of suspected political dissidents.

Burma’s state-run newspapers reported last week that Yettaw (53) of Falcon, Missouri, swam on the night of May 3 to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home and departed by swimming a longer 2km route on the night of 5 May, before being arrested the next morning.

The report said his motive was under investigation.

There are no known previous cases of anyone sneaking into Suu Kyi’s home, though an account earlier this week on a pro-government website said Yettaw admitted to making a similar secret visit late last year. – guardian.co.uk