WORLD BRIEFING / MYANMAR
An American facing trial for swimming to the home of Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was motivated by religious fervor rather than criminal intent and should receive a light sentence, his lawyer said.
John William Yettaw is being tried along with Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing the American to stay for two days after he secretly entered her lakeside compound.
The case will push into at least next week after a divisional court agreed to hear a defense appeal to readmit three witnesses, said one of Suu Kyi’s lawyers, Nyan Win. Yettaw’s lawyer said the defendant was a devout Mormon who wanted to warn Suu Kyi that “terrorists” were going to assassinate her and blame it on the government.
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