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Myanmar - Suu Kyi fights on
Suu Kyi and Yettaw to appeal
Article published on the 2009-08-12 Latest update 2009-08-12 14:43 TU
A demonstration in support of Aung San Suu Kyi in Delhi 12 August
(Photo: Reuters)
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her American co-defendant John Yettaw are to appeal against their convictions by a prison court. While US President Barack Obama condemned Suu Kyi's new sentence, the UN Security Council failed to reach agreement Tuesday.
In Yangon, Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win announced that her legal team will appeal and declared that they are "not satisfied" by the judgement. Suu Kyi's sentence to three years hard labour was commuted to 18 months house arrest by military ruler Than Shwe on Tuesday.
US President Barack Obama called for Suu Kyi's "immediate, unconditional release" and described the sentence as "unjust". The south-east Asian group of countries, Asean, also called for her release and expressed "deep disappointment" with the verdict. But it added that Asean will "remain constructively engaged with Myanmar".
Lawyers for Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years hard labour and imprisonment, said they would go through the court system "step by step" to fight the verdict and might appeal to Than Shwe to deport him.
Yettaw is "very calm" and "hopes for the best", said lawyer Khin Maung Oo.
At least 50 people were breifly detained on Tuesday when they gathered outside Insein prison, where the trial took place, according to Irrawaddy magazine.
“The security forces were worried the crowd would grow and it would turn into an uprising," a member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy told the magazine. "That’s why they arrested those 50 people.”
An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday broke up without condemning the sentences, with Russia and China asking for more time to consider the proposed statement.
China, a member of the council, called for respect for the country's "judicial sovereignty".
 Suu Kyi to appeal 18-month sentence, lawyer says |
