Myanmar's ruling junta has extended house arrest restrictions on democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's deputy Tin Oo by 12 months, a government official said on Tuesday.
"This one-year extension of house arrest is effective from February 14," a home affairs ministry official told the agency, adding that the move was made under an anti-subversion law.
The authorities went to Tin Oo's house late on Monday to inform him of the decision, he said.
A spokesman from Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said it had not been able to confirm the decision against Tin Oo, who is in his late 70s.
"His freedom depends on the authorities," said spokesman U Lwin.
"Whether they extend the house arrest by six months or one year is not important, they could be released within days if the government wanted to."
Tin Oo was taken into detention along with Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2003, when a pro-government mob attacked their convoy during a political tour of the country's north.
He was initially held in prison in Kalay in remote northwestern Myanmar, and then in February 2004 brought back to his home in Yangon, where he has been held under house arrest ever since.
The 2003 crackdown saw the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and all eight members of her party's Central Executive Committee as well as other NLD officials and activists.
{{/usCountry}}The 2003 crackdown saw the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and all eight members of her party's Central Executive Committee as well as other NLD officials and activists.
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