Court rejects appeal by Aung San Suu Kyi

A court in Burma upheld its guilty verdict on the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday, a ruling likely to keep the Nobel laureate in detention until after next year's elections.

The judge dismissed an appeal by Ms Suu Kyi's legal team, which argued that her 18-month house arrest for a security breach was unlawful because it was based on legislation no longer in use.

Prior to the hearing, her lawyer Nyan Win said the National League for Democracy party leader would continue to fight for her freedom, whatever the outcome. "We have done our best to prove her innocence," Nyan Win said. "If she is not acquitted, we are prepared to make another appeal at the Supreme Court."

Ms Suu Kyi was found guilty in August of breaking a law protecting the state from "subversive elements" when, while under house arrest, she allowed an American, John Yettaw, to stay at her lakeside home for two nights.