A special court set up in Insein Prison found the Nobel Peace winner guilty of breaking the terms of her detention by allowing a US national to swim into her lakeside compound May 3.

The American who sparked the controversy, John William Yettaw, received a seven-year jail. Obama said Yettaw's sentence was 'punishment out of proportion with his actions'.

Myanmar's leading democratic activist, Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years under detention. Her sentence was due to end May 27 but Yettaw's intrusion allowed Myanmar's rulers to extend her term.

The military regime running Myanmar has scheduled elections for next year that have already been criticised for ensuring a favourable outcome.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won national elections in 1990 but has been barred from taking power since.