The trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has resumed at a notorious prison in the main city of Rangoon.Prosecutors and lawyers for the Nobel Peace laureate will present their final arguments in the case. The defense met with Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday to prepare the 23-page draft closing argument.
The democracy icon is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest, after allowing an American man to stay at her lakeside Rangoon home for two days after he swam there uninvited back in May. She faces five years in prison if convicted.
Diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and Italy have been invited to attend Friday's proceedings. Authorities have kept the proceedings behind close doors for much of the trial.
Rights groups and Western governments have called her trial a sham designed to keep Aung San Suu Kyi locked up during next year's elections.
She faces a five-year prison sentence if convicted. She has already spent 14 of the last 19 years in prison.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Burmese diplomats at the recent ASEAN security conference that Aung San Suu Kyi's fate would determine the future of bilateral relations between the United States and Burma.
Agencies
