11 Jul 2009

Suu Kyi defence witness testifies

7:00 am on 11 July 2009

One of only two defence witnesses allowed in the trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has testified in court.

The leader of the National League for Democracy is being tried inside Insein Prison near Rangoon, for breaking the terms of her house arrest.

Lawyer Khin Moe Moe argued that the charges against the defendant were illegal: saying Ms Suu Kyi was being tried under the 1974 constitution, which was axed in 1988.

The court will reconvene in two weeks to hear final arguments. The BBC reports a guilty verdict and further detention are widely expected.

Ms Suu Kyi, 64, is accused of breaking the terms of her house arrest after a man, a US citizen, swam across a lake to her home in Rangoon. He is also on trial.

She has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention, much of it at her Rangoon home.

Governments around the world have called for her release.