U.S. citizen John Wm. Yettaw in Yangon (Reuters/Myanma News Agency/handout).Aung Hla Tun Aung Hla Tun (5/22/09)
YANGON (Reuters) – Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty on Friday after a prison court formally charged the Nobel laureate for allowing an univited American intruder inside her home.
The court's decision to proceed with the trial of Suu Kyi, her two female housemates, and the U.S. man after five days of hearings had been widely expected, analysts said.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing the American, John William Yettaw [photo inset], to stay in her home for two days in early May, 2009.
"Are you guilty?" the presiding judge, U Thaung Nyunt, asked as Suu Kyi faced the court inside Yangon's Insein prison.
"No, because I did not commit any crime," she calmly replied, according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
He said the trial could take two weeks and he was confident of an acquittal "if everything goes according to the law."
Myanmar watchers say that is a big "if" in the former Burma, where the military holds sway over a legal system that has put more than 2,000 political prisoners behind bars. More>>
YANGON (Reuters) – Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty on Friday after a prison court formally charged the Nobel laureate for allowing an univited American intruder inside her home.
The court's decision to proceed with the trial of Suu Kyi, her two female housemates, and the U.S. man after five days of hearings had been widely expected, analysts said.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing the American, John William Yettaw [photo inset], to stay in her home for two days in early May, 2009.
"Are you guilty?" the presiding judge, U Thaung Nyunt, asked as Suu Kyi faced the court inside Yangon's Insein prison.
"No, because I did not commit any crime," she calmly replied, according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
He said the trial could take two weeks and he was confident of an acquittal "if everything goes according to the law."
Myanmar watchers say that is a big "if" in the former Burma, where the military holds sway over a legal system that has put more than 2,000 political prisoners behind bars. More>>
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