Suu Kyi went on trial on Monday on charges that she has violated her house arrest. The court, which is convening in the notorious Insein prison where Suu Kyi is being held at present, rejected a public trial and adjourned until Tuesday after largely procedural hearings.

Aung San Suu Kyi was charged last week after an American man swam across a lake to reach the house where she had been detained. If convicted, Suu Kyi could face up to five years in jail, which means that she would also be unable to participate in elections planned for next year.

She has already spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention. Suu Kyi's house arrest had been due to expire at the end of this month.