[JURIST] A Myanmar court on Friday upheld a sentence of house arrest imposed on opposition pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Suu Kyi was convicted [JURIST report] in August of violating state security laws and sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for allowing American John Yettaw to stay in her home after he swam across a lake to get there. Suu Kyi's lawyer and spokesperson for her National League for Democracy (NLD) [party website] Nyan Win said he was not surprised with the court's decision and that he plans to appeal [AFP report] to the high court. Suu Kyi was not present for the verdict.

Last month, the Divisional Court in Rangoon agreed to hear Suu Kyi's appeal, but denied her request to attend [JURIST reports] the hearing. Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with four years of hard labor, was released [JURIST report] in August after negotiations with US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, and her latest conviction has been condemned [BBC report] by many world leaders and has given rise to international sanctions [JURIST report] against Myanmar's junta and members of the judiciary.