Commenting on today’s sentencing of the Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi by a court in Rangoon to a further 18 months house arrest, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights, Günter Nooke, issued the following statement:

“This judgment is a slap in the face for all those committed to achieving freedom and human rights in Burma. By holding a show trial the regime in Rangoon has once again demonstrated that it is neither willing nor able to take steps in the right direction. It’s therefore all the more important for the international community to be united in strongly condemning this action.”