Suu Kyi’s case nearing its end

The trial of Myanmar’s prominent human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi is nearing its final moments as her lawyer delivered closing statements at Yangon’s Insein Prison today.

Suu Kyi, 64, is charged with opposing the terms of her house arrest after an American male swam to her home and took up residence for several days. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years, and if convicted of this offence, faces five years in jail.

John Williams Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to Suu Kyi’s home on May 3, 2009. He was uninvited and Suu Kyi has thus been held in the Insein Prison since.

According to CNN, the government has denied requests by the United Nations to visit her, though she is able to speak with her lawyers.

Though some diplomats have been allowed to monitor the ongoing court proceedings, media outlets and other acting bodies are currently barred from covering the event. Some analysts are claiming that the court proceedings and jailing are a ploy to keep Suu Kyi – a pro-democracy leader - out of the upcoming elections.

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