Burma Court Finds Nobel Peace Prize Winner Suu Kyi Guilty: Verdict against Democracy

Aung San Suu Kyi - Nobel Peace Prize

Filipino protesters light candles and wear posters of Burma's pro-democracy leader during a demonstration of support outside the Edsa Shrine in Ortigas, eastern Manila, Philippines

Guilty Verdict against Democracy
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will spend another 18 months as a prisoner of Burma's military junta, a Rangoon court decreed today. She was found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest after an American man called John Yettaw swam to her lakeside house in Rangoon in May. Yettaw, who has been in poor health, was sentenced to seven years in prison with hard labour.

Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize laureate was initially jailed for three years with hard labour, until a special order from junta chief General Than Shwe was read out in court commuting her sentence to 18 months under house arrest.

Global Outrage
The verdict has prompted further global outrage and renewed calls for stronger action against the dictatorship. Suu Kyi has already spent more than 13 of the past 20 years in jail or detention.