Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest for violating the terms of her detention.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was charged with violating the terms of her long house arrest when an American intruder swam across a lake uninvited and spent two nights at her home in May this year.
Ms Suu Kyi faced up to five years in prison. She denied the charge but said she expected to be found guilty.
On Tuesday, she was sentenced to three years' jail and hard labour by a court but the head of the ruling military junta commuted the punishment, a minister said.
Home Affairs minister General Maung Oo said outside court that military ruler Than Shwe had signed a special order suspending the sentence and ordered that Ms Suu Kyi should spend 18 months under house arrest.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the last 20 years in detention. Her lawyers have argued that the repeated extensions to her house arrest are illegal.
Many analysts expected a guilty verdict, accusing the country's military rulers of using the incident to make sure she is still in detention during elections planned for early next year.
Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the last elections in 1988 but was never allowed to take power.
Meanwhile, reports say her American co-defendant John Yettaw was discharged from hospital on Monday after a week of treatment for epileptic seizures.
Staff at the Yangon hospital where Mr Yettaw, 54, was treated said his condition had improved and he was eating after having fasted for weeks. He is believed to have epilepsy, diabetes and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr Yettaw was earlier sentenced to seven years' jail and hard labour. He received three years for breaching security laws, three years for immigration violations and one year for a municipal charge of illegal swimming.
NZ forecasts further isolation
New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said Ms Suu Kyi conviction was a serious retrograde step that will further alienate the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, from the international community.
"It is difficult to reach any conclusion other than that the Burmese government orchestrated this verdict to ensure that Aung San Suu Kyi would still be in detention and therefore unable to participate in planned elections next year," Mr McCully said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Today's events will be greeted with dismay by the international community, which condemned Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest in May, and had been pushing hard for her release.
"It will also be seen as a slap in the face for Burma's regional neighbours, who have maintained an open dialogue with the Burmese government in an effort to encourage a more democratic approach.
"It is difficult to see any other outcome to today's verdict than further international isolation for Burma.
"Late last month I met with the Burmese Foreign Minister at the ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand, and raised New Zealand's concerns with him yet again. The Minister was left in no doubt as to our views, or those of the wider region.
"Burma's rulers must listen to the international community, release Aung San Suu Kyi immediately, and take steps to restore democracy," Mr McCully said.
Calls for release
Australia expressed "dismay" at the conviction, urging the ruling junta to release Ms Suu Kyi in the interests of national reconciliation.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had asked Australia's ambassador to Myanmar to convey the government's sentiments to the ruling generals, calling for Ms Suu Kyi's release "immediately and unconditionally".
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said there was a need "for ASEAN foreign ministers to have an urgent meeting to discuss this issue, which is of grave concern".
"With this sentence there is no possibility for Aung San Suu Kyi to participate in the general election next year which should be free, fair and inclusive."
In Europe, Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and angry" at the "monstrous" sentencing Ms Suu Kyi.
Mr Brown called her trial a sham and said it shows Mynamar's military government is determined to act with total disregard for accepted legal standards and in defiance of international opinion.
"The facade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance."
Mr Brown also described the sentence as politically motivated to prevent Ms Suu Kyi from taking part in planned elections next year, saying they will have no legitimacy without her participation.
He called for the United Nations' Security Council to impose a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the conviction "brutal and unjust" and urged the European Union to impose tougher sanctions on Myanmar.
The EU has also condemned the verdict, calling for the pro-democracy leader to be freed.
Amnesty International said the verdict is "shameful" political theatre and called for her immediate and unconditional release.
"Her arrest and trial and now this guilty verdict are nothing more than legal and political theatre," said Irene Khan, secretary general of the London-based human rights organisation.
