Myanmar's Supreme Court made the unprecedented decision...

Myanmar's Supreme Court made the unprecedented decision to allow appeals by eight people originally sentenced to death in a controversial high treason case, a defence lawyer said.
"The Special Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court seated by Supreme Court Judges U Khin Maung Aye and U Khin Myint accepted the admission to make a special appeal," Naing Ngweya said.
One legal expert, calling the decision "very unprecedented" and "a breakthrough", said pressure on the military regime from the UN's International Labour Organisation and France-based Reporters Without Borders may have played a part.
Zaw Thet Htwe, an editor of popular sports journal "First Eleven" and 11 others were arrested July 2003 accused of plotting bomb attacks in Yangon and other cities.
He and eight others were sentenced to death in November of that year after a closed trial by a special court at Insein Central Prison. The Supreme Court had not accepted special appeals in treason cases previously.
Nothing is known about the other three, nor was there any immediate word on why the ninth person was not involved in the appeal.
The ILO protested against the death sentences, saying the real reason they were convicted was for reporting human rights abuse cases to the agency's Yangon representatives.
A few months later, the sentences of the eight were commuted to between three years and life.
"The next step is to make the final appeal to a three-judge Special Appellate Bench," Naing Ngweya said.