Aung San Suu Kyi trespasser incidents

Burmese authorities asserted that Yettaw's visits were instigated by opposition groups as part of efforts to pressure and embarrass the Burmese government. The incident effectively meant that she was unable to participate in the 2010 elections.

Aung San Suu Kyi's followers insisted that the government used this incident to continue her detention until after the 2010 general elections. Other supporters have raised suspicions that the incident was constructed by the government. The Burmese government alleges that Yettaw's visit involved a conspiracy of "internal and external anti-government elements" meant "to intensify international pressure" to release her. Her lawyer Kyi Win said on 14 May: "Everyone is irritated with this American. All of these problems are his fault. He is a fool. Suu Kyi begged him to go back, but he said he was too tired. He slept overnight on the first floor." However, two weeks later her defence lawyer Nyan Win stated that "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she bore no grudge against Mr. Yettaw or his family."

On 4 May 2009, American citizen John Yettaw trespassed upon the residence of Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, two weeks before her scheduled release from house arrest on 27 May. This illegal visit prompted Suu Kyi's arrest on 13 May 2009. Yettaw himself was arrested by Burmese authorities on 6 May. He was charged on 14 May with illegally entering a restricted zone, illegal swimming and breaking immigration laws. It is illegal in Burma to have a guest stay overnight at one's home without notifying the authorities first.

Their trial began 18 May 2009. On 11 August, Yettaw was sentenced on three counts totalling seven years, including four hard labour. Suu Kyi was sentenced to eighteen months of house arrest. On 14 August, US Senator Jim Webb arrived in Burma and successfully negotiated Yettaw's release and 16 August deportation.

As of May 2009, Yettaw was still paying off the travel cost of his 2008 visit.

In mid-April 2009, Yettaw travelled from Missouri to California to see an ex-wife. He informed her that he needed to go to Asia to obtain details on a paper he was writing about forgiveness. On 20 April, Yettaw flew to Bangkok, leaving his children with various friends. He told his family that he was working on a book and searching for US soldiers missing in action from the Vietnam War. According to Yettaw's wife, he wanted to interview Aung San Suu Kyi about forgiveness and resilience. Soon thereafter, Yettaw visited exiled Burmese groups in Thailand and told them about a faith-based book he was writing on heroism. Yettaw spent a week in Bangkok waiting for his Burma visa to clear.

On the evening of 3 May 2009, Yettaw swam a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) distance across Lake Inya in Yangon to the house where Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest by Burmese authorities. He planned his route across the lake using Google Earth. Some policemen saw him during his swim and threw rocks at him.

As a result of the 2009 visit, the authorities declared that Aung San Suu Kyi breached the conditions of her house arrest. She was charged under the country's Law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements, which carried a three-to-five-year jail term. She and her two caretakers, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, were removed to the Insein prison, where they stayed for the duration of the trial. According to Police Brigadier General Myint Thein, prior to the Yettaw visit, authorities had considered letting Aung San Suu Kyi go free, but the incident "infringed on existing law and we unavoidably and regretfully had to take legal action against her."

The criminal case, #47/2009, levied against Yettaw, Aung San Suu Kyi, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, began 18 May 2009 in the Yangon North District Court. Suu Kyi and Yettaw each pleaded not guilty to their charges.

On 11 June 2009, Suu Kyi wrote a letter to the court explaining that after asking Yettaw to leave, she allowed him to stay overnight in order that he might avoid arrest and on the excuse of his health condition. On 24 June, the Burmese Supreme Court heard arguments from her lawyers for allowing two more defence witnesses to testify. Judges argued that, because Tin Oo was under house arrest and because Win Tin said things in interviews with the Democratic Voice of Burma that were critical of the Burmese government, they should not be allowed to testify. Five days later the Court officially rejected the two witnesses.

On 12 August 2009, US Senator Jim Webb negotiated Yettaw's release on humanitarian grounds because of Yettaw's health. Burmese authorities commuted Yettaw's sentence in half, suspending the remaining three-and-a-half years upon Yettaw's deportation. On 14 August, Senator Webb flew with Yettaw to Thailand. Yettaw had to be helped off the plane. He gave reporters an "I love you" sign, but did not respond to any questions. He was immediately placed in an undisclosed Bangkok hospital. The next day he underwent medical examination. According to Senator Webb and Yettaw's family members, Yettaw was not in good health.

As of 2009, Yettaw lived in Missouri, and was in custody of four minor-aged children from a subsequent marriage. Yettaw graduated from Drury University in 1997 cum laude, where he earned degrees in multiple majors. More recently, he was enrolled in a doctoral program at the Forest Institute's School of Professional Psychology (Springfield, Missouri campus), leaving the program in 2007.

In May 2008, Yettaw and his teenage son took a lengthy trip to Asia. His son did not return home until school started again in September. Yettaw then travelled to Mae Sot, Thailand, where he took up residence in a hotel, bought a motorcycle and developed a friendship with a Thai resident. He developed a deep interest in Aung San Suu Kyi and told people that he had to bring international attention to her situation. He tried unsuccessfully to get work at Thai NGOs. In October, after having a vision that he was a defender of the oppressed, he left Mae Sot without paying any of his bills. On 27 October in Bangkok, Thailand, he obtained his Burma visa. On 7 November he flew to Yangon.

Using the same route he used during the 2008 visit, via the culvert, and over a small fence, Yettaw successfully evaded the government security guards and entered her residence at 5 am on 4 May. He entered the house by climbing up a drain. Inside, he came upon two female assistants, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, a mother and daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi's sole sanctioned companions. He informed them that he was tired, hungry and suffered from diabetes. The women fed him. He asked Aung San Suu Kyi if he could stay at the house for a few days. She refused, and her caretakers threatened to turn him in to the authorities, but Aung San Suu Kyi agreed to let him stay on the ground floor after he began to complain about leg cramps. During his stay, they provided him with rehydration salts and meals. Some of his time there he devoted to prayer.

On 27 May, the court heard testimony from Yettaw and Suu Kyi's two caretakers, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma. Her caretakers testified for 30 minutes each, and Yettaw testified for nearly three hours. He stated repeatedly that he was sent on this journey by God to protect Aung San Suu Kyi from a terrorist group trying to assassinate her. He stated that he was seen by policemen as he swam across the lake, and that they did not fire guns at him, but threw rocks instead. He also stated that he had tried to enter Suu Kyi's previously, that police apprehended him, questioned him briefly and then let him go. On the same day, Aung San Suu Kyi released a statement alleging that Burmese authorities were to blame for Yettaw's security breach. She had reported Yettaw's unwelcomed 2008 visit to authorities, but no action was ever taken.

Yettaw then took the stand. Yettaw stated that, on his own accord, he entered the property on the morning of 4 May, that he left the property about midnight on 5 May. Under cross-examination, Yettaw stated that in November 2008 and May 2009 he applied for Visas to visit Yangon, during which time he signed an agreement that he would respect Burma's laws and visa rules. He acknowledged that he entered the property secretly and without permission, that he knew the property was guarded. He also stated that he did not mean to break any immigration laws. In the afternoon authorities brought Yettaw to University Avenue Road and had him explain how he crossed Inya Lake. Yettaw explained how he entered the lake through a small drain on University Avenue Road and Than Lwin Street. University Avenue Road was closed off for an hour and a half during his explanation. The court then announced that the original verdict date of 29 May was to be postponed, and that final arguments would be made 1 June. Of the eight days of proceedings, only two were open to journalists and diplomats. Also, Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers were barred from discussions with her and authorities allowed none of them time to prepare her testimony.

On 28 May, the defence's only witness, Kyi Win, took the stand. He stated that Yettaw entered Aung San Suu Kyi's restricted residence twice and each time security guards allowed it, and therefore they had also violated the law. Furthermore, because no action was taken by the security guards, then Yettaw, Aung San Suu Kyi and her assistants were not guilty of the charges. Through further questioning by Yettaw's lawyer, Khin Maung Oo, U Kyi Win added that the property Yettaw entered did not belong to Aung San Suu Kyi but instead belonged to the State because the government had official security guards around it. He also made the argument that the charges against her fall under parts of the law that were based on the now abolished 1974 constitution, and therefore are invalid.

On 3 July, the Court announced the adjournment was extended for another week. Defense witness Khin Moe Moe took the stand 10 July, testifying for six hours (from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm with an hour lunch at noon). Khin Moe Moe and the defence team argued that the law under which Aung San Suu Kyi was being tried, Section 22, which protects the government from people planning subversive acts, was created under the 1974 Constitution, which was abolished by the current Burmese government in 1988. He was the last witness of the trial. Final arguments were set by the Court for 24 July.

Yettaw was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1955. Yettaw lived with relatives in California for a time until he was able to join the United States Army. He served for just over a year before being discharged, spending a majority of that time in Germany according to his military records. His family has said that Yettaw told them that he has served stints in the US military in several countries of Southeast Asia. Yettaw was diagnosed around 1999 with post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service.