Detention Expiring, but Suu Kyi May Reject Freedom

Aung Suu Kyi's latest term of detention expires on Saturday, but the Burmese pro-democracy leader's lawyer says she won't accept freedom if it is as much of a sham as the country's recent election. Authorities have always tried to attach conditions to her freedom in the past, the Independent reports. "If there are any conditions then it’s not within the law, and ‘The Lady’ will not accept them," said the lawyer, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

Authorities haven't said whether they plan to release Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the last 21 years either in jail or under house arrest, on schedule. Her supporters are hopeful, but analysts believe the junta—still jittery despite an unsurprisingly massive victory in last week's election—will balk at letting her go. Opposition politicians complaining about widespread vote-rigging have been told the price of filing a grievance will be $1,000—several times the average annual income. Suu Kyi's lawyer says she will help investigate election fraud if she is freed.
(More Burma stories.)