Four in court over murder of top Myanmar lawyer

Four men accused of plotting the murder of a prominent Myanmar lawyer and adviser to de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in a Yangon court yesterday.

Ko Ni was shot in the back of the head in late January in broad daylight outside Yangon's airport while waiting for a taxi with his infant grandson in his arms.

He was a vocal critic of the army's lingering grip on power under Myanmar's new elected government and Suu Kyi's party has branded his killing a "terrorist act" designed to thwart their policies.

The gunman, Kyi Lin, was arrested at the scene after also shooting dead a cab driver who tried to stop him escaping.

The four heard the murder charge against them at a Yangon court on Friday.

Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw, who allegedly paid him to carry out the killing, were also charged with possessing an illegal weapon, a court official told AFP.

"We are standing for justice for U Ko Ni, who was assassinated. We are working for justice," prosecution lawyer Nay La told reporters, using an honorific.

Two of the men in court were ex-military.

A fifth man accused of ordering the killing who remains on the run also has army ties, fuelling suspicions Ko Ni was murdered for trying to abolish a 2008 constitution.

The charter, brought in under Myanmar's former junta, bars Suu Kyi from becoming president and enshrines military control by guaranteeing them a quarter of parliament seats.

But commentator and friend of Ko Ni, Bertil Litner, said it was "common knowledge" that the lawyer was close to finding a loophole.