Myanmar's Suu Kyi gets suspended sentence, returned to house arrest+

YANGON, Aug. 11 Kyodo -
A Myanmar court sentenced democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in
prison Tuesday for breaching the terms of her house arrest, but the sentence
was ordered halved and suspended by the country's junta chief.

Reporters were told Tuesday that Sr. Gen Than Shwe, head of the ruling junta,
had ordered the home minister on Monday to cut whatever the court's sentence
was to be in half, then suspend the sentence and return Suu Kyi to house arrest
until the suspended term is served.
Than Shwe apparently issued the order before he knew the verdict or how long
the sentence would be if Suu Kyi was found guilty.
After the court delivered its guilty verdict and three-year sentence Tuesday,
Home Minister Maj. Gen. Maung Oo ordered the sentence cut to 18 months,
suspended for 18 months.
Suu Kyi will remain under house arrest at her home, where she has already been
returned, at least until the suspended sentence runs out.
She had been detained at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison since May 14 after an
American man swam across a lake and entered her home uninvited and illegally
May 3, breaching the terms of her house arrest and leading to the trial that
was held within Insein Prison.
Suu Kyi's assistants Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma were also found guilty of
allowing a breach in internal security laws and sentenced to three years in
jail by the court.
Maung Oo, acting on the earlier order from Than Shwe, also ordered their
sentences halved to 18 months and suspended.
Lawyers for Suu Kyi and her assistants said there has been no decision yet as
to any appeal of the day's verdict or sentences.
Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's lawyer, added his client fully expected the outcome Tuesday.
Since the court's ruling, the road outside Suu Kyi's home on the outskirts of
Yangon has been closed to traffic.
The court also sentenced John William Yettaw, 53, the American who broke into
Suu Kyi's compound May 3, to seven years in jail after finding him guilty on
three separate charges.
Yettaw was given three years for entering Myanmar illegally, three years for
breaching the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and one year for swimming the
lake, an offense against municipal regulations.
Yettaw's sentences are not subject to Than Shwe's decision to halve and suspend
the sentences of Suu Kyi and her assistants.
Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate and leader of the opposition National
League for Democracy, celebrated her 64th birthday while detained inside Insein
Prison on June 19.
She has been under house arrest or in jail for nearly 14 years over the last
two decades.
Her latest trial drew stinging condemnation from the international community
and observers have suggested the trial was used as a way to prevent her from
playing any direct role in national elections reportedly expected next year.
But Thailand, current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said
it would have no official comment on the outcome the trial for at least a few
more days.
Officials in Bangkok told reporters Thai leaders still need to consult with
other ASEAN members and examine the actual rulings before making any statement
on behalf of the group.
The ASEAN members in addition to Myanmar and Thailand are Singapore, Indonesia,
Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military in various forms since 1962.
(with Varunee Torsricharoen in Bangkok)
==Kyodo