Suu Kyi to stand trial

YANGON, Myanmar, May 14 (UPI) -- Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi is set to face trial in the case of an American accused of entering her home where the opposition leader is under house arrest.

The country's military junta authorities Thursday took Suu Kyi, whose trial will begin Monday, to a prison compound near Yangon, formerly called Rangoon, CNN reported.

There, the report said, a special room was set up for her until the trial, Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy party, was quoted as saying. A conviction could send her to prison for up to five years.

The American, John William Yettaw, who allegedly swam across a lake and stayed for two days in Suu Kyi's guarded residence, was charged Thursday with entering the country illegally and staying at a resident's home without government permission, CNN reported, quoting Nyan Win.

Authorities claimed Yettaw's alleged presence in the home violated Suu Kyi's house arrest regulations, the report said. Both his charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the report said.

Calling for Suu Kyi's immediate release, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she is "deeply troubled by the Burmese government's decision to charge Aung San Suu Kyi for a baseless crime." Burma is the former name of Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's house arrest is set to end next month and her supporters say the latest government action may be an effort to prolong her house arrest. The democracy activist, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years.