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Trial of Myanmar military intelligence officers continues

Jan 25 (AP) - The trial of several military intelligence officers associated with ousted Prime Minister Gen.Khin Nyunt went into its second day Tuesday, with relatives barred from entering the courtroom inside Myanmar's notorious Insein prison.

The officers face charges that cover illegal economic activities, including illicit pocession of foreign exchange and corruption, said legal sources, who insisted on anonymity.

No charges are known to have been filed against Khin Nyunt,although he is being held at an undisclosed location.

Khin Nyunt's ouster last October was widely believed to be engineered by hardline members of the ruling junta who were opposed to his more liberal approach to the pro-democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta said he was retiring for health reasons, but leader later accused him of insubordination involving his subordinates.

Legal officials said earlier that more than 300 criminal charges in all were filed against the officers, but they could not give the exact number of defendants. The trial is expected to last for 45 days.

They said that the more than two dozen military intelligence officers whose trial began Monday have been allowed to hire defense lawyers.

A group of about 20 judges and lawyers were seen inside a bus driven into the prison before Tuesday's proceedings began.Earlier, a member of the legal community familiar with the case said the judges would not be allowed to leave the grounds of the prison,even to go home at night, for the duration of the trial.

Family members of the accused and journalists waited outside the prison gates, where guards told them they couldn't enter.

Khin Nyunt, who served as prime minister for less than a year, had also been chief of the military intelligence service, which served as his power base.

After his sacking, about 26 intelligence officers were detained at Insein prison - notorious for housing opponents of military rule. Several members of Khin Nyunt's family have also been detained.

Several family members said Tuesday that they had not been allowed to see their kin since they were imprisoned in October, but have been allowed to send food to them.

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