BURMA: SUPREME COURT AGREES TO ADJUDICATE ASSK

C O N F I D E N T I A L RANGOON 000369 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP AND IO; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: BURMA: SUPREME COURT AGREES TO ADJUDICATE ASSK APPEAL; ASSK PHYSICIAN REAPPEARS IN PUBLIC REF: RANGOON 346 Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Larry Dinger for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d ) The ASSK Appeal on a Fast Track -------------- ¶1. (SBU) NLD spokesman and Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK) lawyer Nyan Win informed us that ASSK's legal team appeared at the Supreme Court on June 17 to petition the court to hear arguments in their appeal to reinstate two defense witnesses in ASSK's trial. The court agreed to hear the case and will announce a date for substantive oral arguments on June 19. (Note: Earlier, Nyan Win told us and the media that the court had already accepted the appeal (reftel),prompting reports that the court would hear substantive arguments July 17; Nyan Win clarified that the court originally had merely accepted the documents associated with the case and still needed to determine in today's hearing whether to adjudicate the appeal.) ¶2. (C) At the British national day reception on June 16, ASSK lawyer U Kyi Win told the Charge Burmese law requires the high court to hear ASSK's appeal, an expectation that proved accurate (though we wonder if the high court's decision was, in fact, driven strictly by legal considerations). At the same event, Nyan Win commented to the Charge that, even with recent delays, the Supreme Court appeal is moving notably faster than the norm. Nyan Win said several other cases were pending and seem to have been postponed so that the Supreme Court can consider ASSK's appeal. ASSK Physician Reappears -------------- ¶3. (C) At the reception, Dr. Douglas, ASSK's personal physician appeared in public for the first time since his detention in early May. May 7, the day Police arrested John Yettaw, the Police also detained Dr. Douglas and kept him in custody for 10 days before releasing him. Dr. Douglas reported he was well-treated. He said he has no current access to ASSK; but he is confident the medical team looking after her is capable. One of the doctors trained with Douglas and another trained under him. DINGER