Aug 14, 2008 (DVB), U Kyi Win, the lawyer for detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has said he is preparing an appeal against her house arrest after meeting with her on 8 August.

U Kyi Win said he had not been informed of the meeting in advance but only knew it would happen when the special police arrived at his house to pick him up.

"They said Daw Suu's request to meet with her lawyer had been approved by senior authorities and I went with them," U Kyi Win said.

"Daw Suu asked me about the legality of the Emergency Act for the protection of the state from destructive elements under which she has been kept under house arrest," he said.

"She told me to 'take the necessary steps according to the law, if the [junta's] case is not strong enough legally'. That was what she said, although she didn’t use the word ‘appeal’."

U Kyi Win said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had also questioned the legality of the extension of her house arrest for more than five years.

U Kyi Win said he and U Nyan Win of the National League for Democracy were now preparing an appeal letter which will be checked by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi before being submitted to the military leaders in Naypyidaw.

"If I said now that there is no hope that Daw Suu could be released as a result of this appeal, it would be an insult to the appealing party," U Kyi Win said.

"So we will keep our hopes up and believe [that this is a possibility] and the rest will depend on the authorities who will make the decision."

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw