International Law
ABA President Calls Suu Kyi Conviction an ‘Affront to the Just Rule of Law’
Posted Aug 13, 2009 5:54 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
ABA President Carolyn B. Lamm is condemning the conviction and sentence of former Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as a violation of international law.
Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest on Tuesday and sentenced to 18 months of additional house arrest. The Burmese democracy activist was convicted for a visit by an uninvited American, John Yettaw, who swam to her home. The sentence will keep Suu Kyi at home past the date of national elections in Myanmar, scheduled for 2010.
In a press release, Lamm called the conviction and sentence “an ongoing affront to the just rule of law by Myanmar's military junta.”
“The sentence, imposed ostensibly for breaching an already unjust confinement, is not supported by due process or international law,” Lamm said. “The American Bar Association calls upon the government of Myanmar to observe and respect the full range of human rights to which Suu Kyi, her co-defendants and the Burmese people are entitled under the most fundamental precepts of international law, including free and fair democratic elections.”
Also condemning Suu Kyi’s conviction is a lawyer working on her behalf. Jared Genser, a partner with DLA Piper, has filed petitions with the United Nations to generate political pressure for her release, the American Lawyer reports. “At the end of the day, this is a political trial,” he told the publication.
Suu Kyi's defense team is planning an appeal in Myanmar's courts, the Associated Press reports.
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Comments
solo attyy
Aug 13, 2009 7:07 AM CST
the ABA is only to happy to stick its nose into overseas politics like this.
But as for whether the ABA will bother to do anything about the corrupt law school cartel that pushes phony salary and employment stats? Oh, no. That is too close to home! Better that the ABA concern itself with politics in freaking BURMA!
Telescopic Philanthropy, as Dickens noted, is the preoccupation of the upper class. And those in charge of the ABA are doing their best to ape the concerns of the upper class. And as for those naive 22 year olds that are being suckered into 6 figure debt for a worthless third tier JD with few job prospects, well, the ABA honchos say, “Let them eat cake.”....
You are so upper class, dahling!
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B. McLeod
Aug 13, 2009 8:09 AM CST
A given society believes in human rights and international law, or it does not. Right now, professional and social organizations within the United States, as well as the national government, are in a poor position to be pointing the finger at other nations and governments. Before we can remove the speck from another’s eye, we must extract the log from our own.
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J.D.
Aug 13, 2009 8:29 AM CST
How about the ABA tell our neighbor Mexico to stop encouraging its citizens to violate our federal law? Seems like a pretty reasonable request considering the Mexican government is publishing handbooks on the best way to sneak into the U.S.
This state-sponsored lawlessness has an actual and immediate impact on Americans. But the ABA is actually CONDONING this lawbreaking by holding panels in favor of giving all the lawbreakers a free pass.
This is why an increasing number of people are finding the ABA worthless—when you’re more concerned about a foreign nation on the other side of the planet than what its taking place right here, people tune out.
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Purtend J.D.
Aug 13, 2009 8:46 AM CST
Comment removed by moderator.
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Juan R. Pollo
Aug 13, 2009 10:11 AM CST
Never ceases to amaze me how people jump on the bandwagon of whichever cause is hip at the time and overlook others more glaring and closer to them. There is a poor devil in Cuba who was videotaped a couple of months saying they needed food, that there was a lot of hunger in Cuba (look up Panfilo on You Tube). The guy was sentenced yesterday to two years in jail for “pre-delictive dangerousness”. But I guess this matter is not as sexy.
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