Suu Kyi appeals to top court against house arrest
Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi appealed to Myanmar's top court yesterday against her extended house arrest, days ahead of a likely meeting involving the junta's premier and US President Barack Obama.
The Nobel laureate was ordered to spend another 18 months in detention in August after a court convicted her over an incident in which a US man swam to her house. An initial appeal against the verdict was rejected in October.
"We submitted the appeal petition to the supreme court. Now we must wait to find out whether the court will agree to hear the case," Kyi Win, the head of Suu Kyi's legal team, told AFP outside the court.
"We hope for the best," Kyi Win said. It was not clear when the court would announce whether it would hear the appeal.
The fresh appeal came as Suu Kyi's case was set to dominate an expected meeting between Obama and the Myanmar junta's prime minister at a regional forum in Singapore on Sunday.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday to free the 64-year-old Suu Kyi, who has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years.
The extension of her house arrest after a trial at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison sparked international outrage, as it effectively keeps her off the stage for elections promised by the regime some time in 2010.
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