Yangon, Aug 11

A Myanmar court on Tuesday sentenced opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to three years in prison and hard labour, but the verdict was immediately commuted to 18 months under house detention by the country's military supremo.

A special court set up in Insein Prison found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of breaking the terms of her detention by allowing a US national to swim into her lakeside compound-cum-prison on May 3. Myanmar's junta leader, Senior General Than Shwe, immediately reduced the court's three-year sentence in prison to one year and six months under house arrest.

Suu Kyi's trial has drawn international attention in the last few months, with even UN Secretary General making a visit to Myanmar.

(IANS)