Lawyers of Suu Kyi to appeal against her conviction

YANGON - Lawyers of detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have said that they will file an appeal against her criminal conviction.

According to reports, Suu Kyi’s main lawyer, Kyi Win, has said that the appeal would be submitted to the Divisional Court in Yangon.

The appeal argues that the law cited by authorities is invalid, as it applies to a constitution abolished two decades ago. Following the submission, the court will give a date for arguments to consider whether it will accept the appeal.

Earlier on August 11, a Myanmar court had sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi three years jail term sentence with hard labour for violating terms of her house arrest when an American citizen John Yettaw swam to her lakeside home in May and stayed there uninvited for two day when she was under dentention.

However, the sentence was later reduced to 18 months under house arrest, but it would keep her off the political stage and elections that the military government has set for next year.

The American, Yettaw, was sentenced to seven years in prison but was released on humanitarian grounds and deported on August 16.

Suu Kyi, who sacrificed her prosperous days in England to take up the crusade for democracy in her home country, Myanmar and later imprisoned by the military regime, has become the world’s most famous political prisoners and an icon for the struggle of democracy.

Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 13 of the last 19 years. (ANI)