Suu Kyi trial begins behind closed doors

Yangon: Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has gone on trial in a notorious prison ringed by riot police and barbed wire as activists vowed to stage protests across the country until she is freed.

A spokesman for Suu Kyi's defense team said the court rejected their request to open the trial to the public and media. He said Monday's session was largely procedural and would continue Tuesday.

She faces up to five years' imprisonment on charges that she violated conditions of her years-long detention by sheltering an American man who swam to her lakeside home earlier this month.

Activists groups plan pro-Suu Kyi demonstrations Monday in about 20 cities around the world, including London, Rome, Boston and San Francisco.