Burmese pro-democracy campaigner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest and sentenced to a further 18 months of confinement to her home.
Originally the court had ordered that Suu Kyi spend three years in prison completing hard labour, however, after a five minute recess Burma's home minister announced on behalf of the country's military ruler, Than Shwe, that the Nobel peace laureate's sentence would be commuted to 18 months under house arrest.
Ms Suu Kyi faced charges of violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing American, John Yettaw, to stay with her after swimming to her lakeside home in Rangoon. Mr Yettaw, who sufferes from diabetes, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder, was sentenced to seven years in jail including three years of hard labour.
The imprisonment will mean Aung San Suu Kyi will not be able to campaign for next year's election and will still be confined when the poll takes place.
The international community has condemned the verdict as politically motivated and called for Ms Suu Kyi's immediate release.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was calling for the European Union to impose tough sanctions on Burma and the EU presidency announced that "additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict".
British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said he was "saddened and angry" by the court's decision and described the trial as a "sham". He added that he believed the decision to be "purely political" in nature.
US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, said that Aung San Suu Kyi should not have been convicted and expressed concern for John Yettaw considering "the harsh sentence imposed on him, especially in light of his medical condition," and called of his release.
Myint Myint Aye, of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, said the party refused to accept the court's ruling and commented to reporters that "we demand her immediate unconditional release and we will keep on pressing.". The NLD is Burma's main opposition party and won the national elections in 1990 but was prevent from ever coming to power.
The new period of house arrest means that Aung San Suu Kyi will still be in detention when elections take place in May next year and many say that the military governmnent has deliberately plotted to exclude Suu Kyi from the polls.
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