Closed-door Suu Kyi trial resumes in Myanmar

YANGON (Reuters) - The widely condemned trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi resumed on Friday, a week after the country's military rulers ignored a plea from the United Nations chief to drop security charges against her.

Yangon's Northern District Court heard testimony from legal expert Khin Moe Moe, Suu Kyi's one remaining defence witness, legal sources said.

Suu Kyi, 64, faces five years in prison if found guilty of breaking a draconian security law that protects the state from "subversive elements."

The court agreed to adjourn final arguments in the case until July 24, said Suu Kyi's lawyer, Nyan Win.

"We were with her at the trial today and she is in good health. We've already met to discuss the 18-page draft of our final arguments," Nyan Win told Reuters.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a two-day visit to Myanmar a week ago, when he urged junta supremo Than Shwe to release Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners.

His request to see Suu Kyi was denied by Than Shwe and he left the country without any guarantees of democratic reforms.

Reporters and the public were kept away from Friday's trial, which has been dismissed by critics as an attempt to keep the Nobel laureate out of planned multi-party elections next year.

Britain's charge d'affaires in Yangon, Jeremy Hodges, asked to attend the trial but was told that authority for him to observe the proceedings had not come through to those in charge of security, the British embassy said in a statement.