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Myanmar high court to consider Suu Kyi appeal

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Myanmar's Supreme Court has agreed to consider an appeal by opposition pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against the 18-month extension of her house arrest, officials said Friday. Suu Kyi's lawyers filed the appeal last month after a lower court rejected an earlier appeal. A judge will hold a preliminary hearing on December 21 to decide whether the appeal will be considered by the full court. If the judge rejects her appeal at that point, Suu Kyi may request a special leave to appeal, which would be heard by the chief justice. The extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest stems from an August conviction for violating state security laws by allowing American John Yettaw to stay in her home after he swam across a lake to get there. Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with four years of hard labor, was released in August after negotiations with US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, and her latest conviction has been condemned by many world leaders and has given rise to international sanctions against Myanmar's junta and members of the judiciary.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on December 04, 2009 (boomark / email).