Suu Kyi Meets with Lawyers to Discuss Appeal

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on Tuesday allowed to meet with her lawyers to discuss her upcoming appeal against the 18-month extension of her house arrest, as well as to address an objection by her brother to repairs to her lakeside home, according to Nyan Win, one of her lawyers.  

Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he and another lawyer, Kyi Win, met with Suu Kyi from 2 p.m to 4 p.m.

A National League for Democracy supporter holds a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi at a ceremony to mark Burma's Independence Day on Jan. 4 outside the party's Rangoon headquarters. (Photo: AP)

“First, we discussed the legal details regarding the three cases of appeal which the Supreme Court is to review on Jan. 18,” said Nyan Win.

“We have also submitted a letter to Rangoon municipality about an objection over house repairs, asking for a photocopy of that objection letter from the municipal office,” he added.

Suu Kyi's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court on Dec. 21 after the Rangoon Division Court upheld the conviction in August for briefly sheltering an uninvited American in her home last year. The Supreme Court agreed to review her most recent house arrest extension.

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but that sentence was commuted by junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

The legal team argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful as it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution which was no longer in existence.

Another problem Suu Kyi faces regards permission to repair her house in Rangoon. In December, authorities halted renovation of her house due to an objection by her brother Aung San Oo who is currently a US citizen.

In 2001, lawyers representing Aung San Oo filed a lawsuit involving the title of Suu Kyi's residence. Aung San Oo claimed he should share in the title.

In 1960, the residence was given to Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, while she served as the Burmese ambassador to India, by U Nu, a former Burmese prime minister. Suu Kyi has lived at the lakeside home since 1988, following her return to Burma from Britain.