New York, Mar. 24 : A United Nations body has ruled that the continuing detention of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not only illegal under international law, but also under the Burmese law.

Suu Kyi, the only Nobel peace laureate in detention in the world, is held under Burma''s 1975 state protection law.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in jail and, most recently, under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years. She was first imprisoned after leading her party, the National League for Democracy, to a landslide victory in elections in 1990.

According to a legal opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions released this week: "The latest renewal of the order to place Mrs Suu Kyi under house arrest not solely violates international law but also national domestic laws of Myanmar."

The ruling went on to say: "The Working Group requests the government to immediately release, without any condition, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi from her continued placement under house arrest." (ANI)