YANGON, Myanmar — U.S. Sen. Jim Webb today won the release of an American prisoner convicted in Myanmar and sentenced to 7 years in prison for swimming secretly to the residence of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the senator's office said.

John Yettaw, 53, is to be officially deported Sunday, when he will fly with Webb on a military aircraft to Bangkok, according to a statement from Webb's office.

Before his conviction on Tuesday, Yettaw had spent several days in a prison hospital for epileptic seizures. He is also said to suffer from asthma and diabetes.

During hi visit to Myanmar — the first by a member of the U.S. Congress in more than a decade — the senator also secured a rare visit with Suu Kyi, who was convicted along with Yettaw and sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest.