国际社会谴责缅甸对昂山素姬的审判

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Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced to 18 months in detention in Myanmar. The court initially handed down a three-year prison term for violating an internal security law, but that was immediately halved on the orders of the military government, which said the 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate could serve the time in her home.

The verdict drew criticism from leaders around the world. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was travelling in Africa.

"She should not have been trialed and she should not have been convicted."

The charges stemmed from an incident, in which an American swam to her lakeside home in May and stayed there uninvited for two days, that breached the terms of her house arrest and broke a security law protecting the state from, quote: "subversive elements".

The 27-country European Union is preparing sanctions against Myanmar, also known as Burma, that include restricting trade with state-owned firms and barring top junta leaders from entering the bloc. The UN Security Council met to discuss the verdict. Jean-Pierre Lacroix is the deputy French ambassador to the United Nations.

"[The] French authorities have strongly condemned this verdict."

In a statement, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the credibility of elections next year would remain in doubt unless the junta freed Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.

Glossary [only for reference]

Aung San Suu Kyi: born 19 June 1945 in Rangoon, is an opposition politician and general secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma (Myanmar).

hand sth down [phrasal verb]: to announce an official decision, often a decision about how someone should be punished

stem from sth [phrasal verb]: to originate or develop as the result of something

uninvited: not invited and expected

laureate [countable]: someone who has been given an important prize or honour, especially the Nobel Prize

subversive elements: a group of people with ideas, activities etc that are secret and intended to damage or destroy a government or an established system.

bloc [countable usually singular]: a large group of people or countries with the same political aims, working together

credibility [uncountable]: the quality of deserving to be believed and trusted

political prisoner: someone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, for his or her involvement in political activity