YANGON, 28 July - Criminal Cases Nos 47/2009, 48/2009, 49/2009 against US citizen Mr John William Yettaw, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma were heard at Yangon North District Court at 10 am today.

The court heard the arguments of the lawyers defending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Daw Khin Khin Win and Ma Win Ma Ma and Mr John William Yettaw in Criminal Case No 47/2009.

It pronounced an order rejecting the lawyers' application for submission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' response to the queries raised by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the United Nations and for questioning the presenter as a court witness under Article (540) of Penal Code of Criminal Procedure.

The order says that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is put on trial under Article (22) of the Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts; that Article (22) is that any person placed under restriction will face a legal punishment if he opposes, breaches or fails to obey the restriction order or prohibition order; that nothing is arguable regarding the restriction order, prohibition order and extended prohibition order put on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; that the plaintiffs submit restriction order as evidence (b), prohibition order, as evidence (b-1) and extended prohibition order, as evidence (b-2); and that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Advocate U Kyi Win submitted an appeal against the said restriction order, prohibition order and extended prohibition order to the Government Office of the Union of Myanmar, however the appeal was rejected because of lack of sound evidences.

It says that the Government Office sent a forwarding letter on rejection of the appeal dated 30 April 2009; that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi knows that restriction order, prohibition order and extended prohibition order have been issued and they are still in force; and that in the case, plaintiffs and their witnesses and the accused and their witnesses have been questioned.

It is found that the statements and arguments and the evidences provided by both sides do not support or reflect the reasons enumerated in the application; that the context of the case is to find out whether the accused opposes, breaches or fails to obey the restriction order or prohibition order; and that so an order is pronounced to reject Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's lawers' application for submission in the court under Article 540 (Part II) of Penal Code of Criminal Procedure, deducing that there is no reason to take the application into consideration.

Final arguments of Lawyer U Khin Maung Oo defending Mr John William Yettaw and final statements of the deputy district law officer for the plaintiffs in Criminal Cases Nos 48/2009 and 49/2009 were heard.

The court fixed the 31st of July to pronounce the final judgement for Criminal Cases Nos 47/2009, 48/2009 and 49/2009.

(Source: The New Light of Myanmar dated 29 July 2009)