Appeal for Suu Kyi release rejected

The highest court in military-ruled Myanmar dismissed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's latest bid for freedom,turning down an appeal to end 14 years of house arrest,her lawyer said.

The highest court in military-ruled Myanmar dismissed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest bid for freedom on Friday,turning down an appeal to end 14 years of house arrest,her lawyer said.

The Supreme Court’s decision had been expected since legal rulings in Myanmar rarely favor opposition activists.

Defence lawyer Nyan Win told reporters that he would launch one final “special appeal” before the court after determining why the earlier appeal had been rejected. “The court order did not mention any reasons,” he said.

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“Although the decision comes as no surprise,it is deeply disappointing. We continue to believe that (Suu Kyi) should be released immediately along with the other 2,000 and more other prisoners of conscience,” said British Ambassador Andrew Heyn,who attended the court session along with diplomats from Australia,France and the United States.

Suu Kyi’s lawyers appealed to the court last November after a lower court a month earlier upheld a decision to sentence her to 18 months of house arrest. She was convicted last August of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American who swam to her lakeside home.

The 64-year-old democracy icon was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor in a trial that drew global condemnation,but that sentence was immediately commuted to 18 months of house arrest by junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.