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Junta postpones Suu Kyi verdict to August 11
Irrawaddy - July 31, 2009
The verdict in the trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been postponed to August 11 on the order of high-ranking military officials, according to military sources.
Officials in Napyidaw reportedly contacted the Burmese Supreme Court by telephone on Friday and ordered a delay in announcing the verdict.
The postponement comes as the military government faces growing international and internal pressure over the trial of Suu Kyi, who faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest.
"The verdict has been postponed to 10 am on August 11," Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Friday morning. Some diplomats were allowed to observe the brief court session, said sources.
About 300 Suu Kyi supporters gathered near the prison on Friday morning before the roads and bridges leading to the prison were blocked by riot police, said Ohn Kyaing, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
"Seven trucks carrying police passed by me as I was talking to you," said Ohn Kyaing, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday from outside Insein Prison. "They are also equipped with weapons."
Security forces were increased this week around Insein Prison, where the trial is being held. Members of pro-junta groups such as the Union Solidarity and Development Association and Swar Arr Shin took photographs of people gathered outside the prison. Dozens of security trucks were on standby around the prison. Authorities ordered nearby shops to close around the prison.
Rangoon residents said hundreds of riot police and members of Swan Arr Shin, the junta-back militia, were also positioned at strategic locations around Rangoon. Riot police were deployed around NLD headquarters.
August is an historic month in Burma's pro-democracy movement. Twenty-one years ago, millions of Burmese took to the streets to demonstrate, calling for democratic reform in the country. August 8 is the 21st anniversary of the 8888 uprising. On Thursday, the junta arrested about 20 Suu Kyi supporters in their homes in an overnight operation in Rangoon.
The United States and the European Union have said they will push for tougher sanctions on the military government if Suu Kyi is sentenced to prison.
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