[JURIST] Opposition pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] filed an appeal in Myanmar's highest court on Friday challenging the 18-month extension of her house arrest. The head of Suu Kyi's legal team Kyi Win said that now that the appeal [AFP report] has been submitted to the High Court, they must wait to learn whether the court will agree to hear the case. Earlier this week, it was reported that a Senior Burmese official said there was a plan to release [AP report] Suu Kyi so she can organize her political party for next year's elections, but the international community remains skeptical.

Suu Kyi's house arrest stems from an August conviction [JURIST report] for violating state security laws by allowing American John Yettaw to stay in her home after he swam across a lake to get there. In October, the Divisional Court in Rangoon rejected Suu Kyi's appeal, after denying her request to attend [JURIST reports] the hearing. Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with four years of hard labor, was released [JURIST report] in August after negotiations with US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, and her latest conviction has been condemned [BBC report] by many world leaders and has given rise to international sanctions [JURIST report] against Myanmar's junta and members of the judiciary.