<p>Suu Kyi, detained for 15 of the past 21 years, was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest in August for allowing an uninvited American to stay in her lakeside home after he swam over to see her.<br /><br />“The judge turned it down. He read out the decision but he did not offer any reason for the rejection,” her lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters, who were barred from the courtroom.<br />Nyan Win said he planned to lodge an appeal against the decision with Myanmar’s chief justice, the one remaining channel for Suu Kyi to seek her freedom.<br /><br />“We will take it to an appellate court as soon as we know the details of the verdict,” he added. The verdict was widely expected by diplomats and activists, many of whom believe Myanmar’s judicial system is beset by interference from the military, which has ruled the former Burma for almost half a century. Home Minister Major General Maung Oo said on January 21 that the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released in November when her house arrest term expired, a comment Suu Kyi said was in contempt of court because her appeal had not been heard at that point.<br /><br />Britain’s ambassador to Myanmar, Andrew Heyn, said the coming election, the first in two decades, would not be credible unless Suu Kyi and other political prisoners were released.<br /><br />“Although this decision came as no surprise, it is deeply disappointing,” he told Reuters.<br />“If this year’s elections are to have credibility and legitimacy, all shades of political opinion should have the opportunity to put their case to the electorate.”<br /><br />The election, a date for which has yet to be revealed, has been widely derided as an attempt by the junta to make the country appear democratic, with the military pulling the strings behind a civilian-fronted government.<br /><br />Aung Din, executive director of the Washington-based US Campaign for Burma, said the court’s decision was expected because no judge would dare go against the will of the <br />generals.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi, detained for 15 of the past 21 years, was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest in August for allowing an uninvited American to stay in her lakeside home after he swam over to see her.<br /><br />“The judge turned it down. He read out the decision but he did not offer any reason for the rejection,” her lawyer, Nyan Win, told reporters, who were barred from the courtroom.<br />Nyan Win said he planned to lodge an appeal against the decision with Myanmar’s chief justice, the one remaining channel for Suu Kyi to seek her freedom.<br /><br />“We will take it to an appellate court as soon as we know the details of the verdict,” he added. The verdict was widely expected by diplomats and activists, many of whom believe Myanmar’s judicial system is beset by interference from the military, which has ruled the former Burma for almost half a century. Home Minister Major General Maung Oo said on January 21 that the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released in November when her house arrest term expired, a comment Suu Kyi said was in contempt of court because her appeal had not been heard at that point.<br /><br />Britain’s ambassador to Myanmar, Andrew Heyn, said the coming election, the first in two decades, would not be credible unless Suu Kyi and other political prisoners were released.<br /><br />“Although this decision came as no surprise, it is deeply disappointing,” he told Reuters.<br />“If this year’s elections are to have credibility and legitimacy, all shades of political opinion should have the opportunity to put their case to the electorate.”<br /><br />The election, a date for which has yet to be revealed, has been widely derided as an attempt by the junta to make the country appear democratic, with the military pulling the strings behind a civilian-fronted government.<br /><br />Aung Din, executive director of the Washington-based US Campaign for Burma, said the court’s decision was expected because no judge would dare go against the will of the <br />generals.</p>
