Verdict expected Friday in Suu Kyi trial

YANGON, Myanmar - A verdict is expected Friday morning in the subversion trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, court officials said.

case on Tuesday.

Suu Kyi and two of her housekeepers are being tried on charges that stem from a May 3 incident. That day, an American, John William Yettaw, allegedly swam across a lake to her home and stayed for two days.

The government said Yettaw's presence in the closely guarded home violated Suu Kyi's house arrest. The country's regime rarely allows her visitors, and foreigners are not allowed overnight stays in local households without government permission.

Suu Kyi said she doesn't know Yettaw, didn't know of his plans and denies any wrongdoing. She is charged with subversion. If convicted, Suu Kyi could face up to five years in prison.

Yettaw, a 53-year-old former military serviceman from Falcon, Missouri, testified repeatedly that God had sent him to Myanmar to protect Suu Kyi because he dreamed that a terrorist group would assassinate her.

He is charged with violating immigration laws and trespassing. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

A lawyer selected by the U.S. Embassy is representing him.

Final arguments in Yettaw's two separate cases were to continue Tuesday afternoon. Verdicts also were expected Friday in his cases.

Suu Kyi, the iconic face of democracy in Myanmar, was placed under house arrest in 1989. The next year, the National League for Democracy won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in the first free elections in the country in nearly 30 years.

But Myanmar's military junta disqualified Suu Kyi from serving because of her house arrest and annulled the election results.

Her supporters say Suu Kyi's latest arrest is meant to keep her confined so she cannot participate in the general elections that the junta has scheduled for next year.