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Suu Kyi trial enters final phase in Myanmar
Associated Press - July 27, 2009
Yangon – The trial of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi entered its final phase Monday, with the prosecution scheduled to deliver its closing arguments, a government official said.
Suu Kyi, 64, is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days. She faces a possible five years in prison.
Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win said he expected the verdict to be delivered in two to three weeks.
The official, who demanded anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the lawyer for American John W. Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, will also give his final arguments. Two female companions of Suu Kyi were to present statements before the court.
Diplomats from the United States, Singapore, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia were allowed to attend the session, one of the diplomats told reporters.
Washington, which has posted no ambassador to Myanmar, is represented by the deputy chief of mission, Larry Dinger.
Yettaw was charged with criminal trespass, which carries a maximum jail term of three months. He also faces a municipal charge for swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw has pleaded not guilty and explained in court that he had a dream that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her.
"I will try my best to defend my client. I will argue that he did not violate the restriction order and I will try my utmost to get him lesser punishment," Khin Maung Oo, Yettaw's lawyer, said over the weekend.
Tried on the same charges as the Nobel Peace Prize laureate are Khin Khin Win and her daughter Win Ma Ma, who have long been Suu Kyi's companions during her house arrest. Both are members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and Suu Kyi's local supporters, who worry the ruling junta has found an excuse to keep her behind bars through elections planned for next year.
At an Asia-Pacific security forum last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered Myanmar the prospect of better relations with the United States, but said that depended in part on the fate of Suu Kyi.
Myanmar state media rejected the criticism, accusing Clinton and others calling for Suu Kyi's release of "interference."
The trial started May 18. The court had approved 23 prosecution witnesses, of which 14 took the stand. Only two out of four defense witnesses were allowed.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.
Suu Kyi's opposition party won national elections in 1990, but Myanmar's generals refused to relinquish power. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.
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