Tuesday, August 11, 2009

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced on Tuesday to 18 months of house arrest.


A woman holds up a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi at a Paris rally calling for her release.

A woman holds up a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi at a Paris rally calling for her release.

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The sentence is significantly less than the maximum five-year prison sentence the Nobel peace laureate faced for the charges.

The case stems from a May 3 incident in which American John William Yettaw -- a 53-year-old former military serviceman from Falcon, Missouri -- swam two miles across a lake to Suu Kyi's home and stayed for two days.

The government of Myanmar said Yettaw's presence violated the conditions of Suu Kyi's house arrest.

The court sentenced Yettaw to seven years of hard labor.

The trial began on May 18 at a prison compound near Yangon and was widely criticized by the international community.

The defense was allowed to call two witnesses, compared with more than a dozen called by prosecutors.

Supporters of Suu Kyi said the trial was meant to keep her confined so she cannot participate in the general elections that the junta has scheduled for next year.

An exact date for the elections has not been set. It is, therefore, unclear whether Suu Kyi's house arrest will prevent her from campaigning.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/11/myanmar.suukyi/index.html

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