Suu Kyi due to hear first verdict in junta trial

Naypyidaw, Myanmar: Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to hear the verdict in her incitement trial on Tuesday, the first in a catalogue of judgements to be handed down in a junta court that could jail her for decades.

The Nobel laureate has been detained since the generals ousted her government in the early hours of February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country’s brief democratic interlude. More than 1,200 people have been killed and over 10,000 arrested in a crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

Suu Kyi faces three years in jail if found guilty of incitement against the military -- just one of the charges that analysts say are aimed at removing the democracy icon from the political arena for good.

But the junta’s plans for Suu Kyi remain unknown, they add, and authorities could also delay the verdict. Journalists have been barred from proceedings in the special court in the military-built capital Naypyidaw and her lawyers are banned from speaking to the media.