Myanmar’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi believes her trial is an attempt by the country’s ruling generals to prevent her from running in multi-party elections next year, her lawyer said.
The Nobel laureate, who faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of breaching the terms of her house arrest, has urged her lawyers to “explore all legal avenues” to win the widely condemned case.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told us the trial and the charges against her were politically motivated,” Nyan Win said late on Wednesday after defense lawyers were allowed to meet the 63-year-old at her prison guesthouse.
“She instructed us to explore all legal avenues to take appropriate legal action,” he said.
A conviction is widely expected in the former Burma, where the courts have often bent the law to suit the military, which has ruled for nearly half a century.
A Yangon court on Tuesday upheld a ban on two of Suu Kyi’s defense witnesses but agreed to allow Khin Moe Moe, a legal expert, to give testimony.
Nyan Win said a second appeal to have the bans overturned would be lodged with a higher court yesterday.
The initial barring of the three witnesses outraged Suu Kyi’s supporters, who accused the junta of trying to sabotage her defense.
Suu Kyi is charged under Section 22 of an internal security law to protect the state from “subversive elements” after American John Yettaw swam across the Inya lake to her home on May 4, where he stayed for two days.
Yettaw told the court he was sent by God to protect Suu Kyi from “terrorists” seeking to kill her. He and two of Suu Kyi’s housemaids are also charged under the security law.
Suu Kyi’s next court appearance is scheduled for today, although her lawyers expect the case to be adjourned.
The pro-democracy icon has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years, mostly at home. Her latest stint of house arrest was lifted on May 26.
Western governments and Myanmar’s regional neighbors have expressed outrage at the trial, which critics say is aimed at keeping the charismatic National League for Democracy leader out of elections next year.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across
RSS