A court in army-ruled Myanmar (Burma) on Tuesday found opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of violating an internal security law, a ruling certain to anger the West and further isolate the regime.
The court sentenced the Nobel Peace Prize winner to three years' hard labour in jail and the military regime immediately commuted the sentence to 18 months, which she can serve in her home in Yangon (Rangoon).
A guilty verdict had been widely expected in a case critics say was fabricated by the military regime to keep Suu Kyi out of circulation ahead of a general election scheduled for next year.
The charges stemmed from a mysterious incident in which an American, John Yettaw, swam uninvited to her lakeside home in May and stayed there for two days, which breached the terms of her house arrest.
The US co-defendant in the case was sentenced to a total of seven years' imprisonment and hard labour by a court on Tuesday.
The European Union said it would toughen its sanctions against Myanmar after Tuesday's conviction of Suu Kyi. France and Britain called for global arms and economic embargos.
