Brown describes Suu Kyi verdict as a "sham"

London, Aug.11 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the sentencing of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying he was "saddened and angry" about a trail that was a "sham".

A court in Rangoon has convicted Burmese pro-democracy leader and sentenced her to an additional 18 months of house arrest.

Brown said this move by army-ruled Burma was politically motivated to prevent Suu Kyi from taking part in the 2010 elections.

"It is further proof that the military regime in Burma is determined to act with total disregard for accepted standards of the rule of law in defiance of international opinion," The Telegraph quoted Brown, as saying.

"The facade of her prosecution is made more monstrous because its real objective is to sever her bond with the people for whom she is a beacon of hope and resistance," Brown added.

The Prime Minister called on the United Nations' Security Council to impose a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the Burmese regime.

Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years' jail and hard labour by a court today, but the head of the ruling military junta commuted the punishment to 18 months' house arrest.

The court sentenced Suu Kyi on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest after a bizarre incident in which an American man, John Yettaw, 54, swam to her lakeside house in May this year. (ANI)