Aung San Su Kyi, Myanmar's iconic pro-democracy leader, went on trial for allegedly giving refuge to an American intruder who swam to her lake-side home in Yangon.
The Nobel Laureate was taken to prison from her home, where she has been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years. The American man identified as John Yettaw had sneaked into her house and was captured on his way back.
Aung has been charged for violating the conditions of her house arrest. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison and could be in jail for the 2010 election.
Her term for house arrest was to expire in May. The military junta that rules Myanmar had refused to recognise the landslide victory of her party in the 1990 general election. The country has been ruled by a military junta since 1962.
Aung studied politics at Lady Sri Ram College in Delhi before going to Oxford. She returned to her native country in 1988 to tend to her mother and got involved in the democracy movement.
Photograph: Patrick de Noirmont/Reuters
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