Suu Kyi trial begins as Myanmar junta rejects criticism of UN rights chief

The country has been in turmoil since the military regime seized power in February

Aung San Suu Kyi will hear the first testimony against her in a junta court, more than four months after a military coup. AFP

The trial of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi began on Monday, as the junta that overthrew her elected government rejected criticism by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over its use of deadly force against protesters.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the junta seized power on February 1 and detained Suu Kyi and other senior members of her party, unleashing daily protests and fighting between the armed forces and ethnic minority guerrilla forces and militias.

The trial is expected to run until the end of July, her lawyer said.

On Monday the court heard a police force major testify that Suu Kyi broke coronavirus restrictions during last year's elections that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won in a landslide, her lawyer Min Min Soe told AFP.

Another police major testified on separate charges accusing her of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, she added.

Suu Kyi "paid keen attention" throughout the hearing, another member of her legal team, Khin Maung Zaw said in a statement.

Journalists were barred from proceedings in the special court in the capital Naypyidaw, but an AFP reporter said there was a heavy police presence outside.

Nobel laureate Ms Suu Kyi also faces other more serious charges including intent to incite, breaching the official secrets act and charges for accepting $600,000 and 11.4 kg worth of gold from Yangon's former chief minister.

Her legal team have denied any wrong doing by Ms Suu Kyi and her chief lawyer Mr Zaw called the most recent corruption charges "absurd".

Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director, Human Rights Watch, said in a statement the charges Ms Suu Kyi faced "are bogus, and politically motivated" and "should be dropped, resulting in her immediate and unconditional release."

The army says it took power by force because Ms Suu Kyi's party won the election through voter fraud, an accusation rejected by the previous election commission and international monitors.

Myanmar's security forces have killed at least 862 people during their crackdown on protests since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group, although the junta disputes the number.

Pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of the main city of Yangon on Monday, some chanting "revolutionary war, we participate", according to social media posts.

Some activists said they planned to stage a series of strikes and protests on Monday to coincide with the birthday of Che Guevara, a Latin American revolutionary who became an international icon after his death.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Friday that violence was intensifying and condemned the army's "outrageous" use of heavy weapons.

Ms Bachelet said the junta had shown no willingness to implement a five-point consensus it agreed with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in April to halt violence and start dialogue with its opponents.

In a press release, Myanmar's junta-led ministry of foreign affairs rejected Bachelet's statement, questioning the accuracy and impartiality of the report.

"The report neither mentioned nor condemned the acts of sabotage and terrorism committed by the unlawful associations and terrorist groups as well as the sufferings and deaths of the security forces," it said.

The junta has branded a rival National Unity Government set up by supporters of Suu Kyi as a terrorist group and blamed it for bombings, arson and killings.

Myanmar's junta-controlled media on Monday accused an ethnic armed group of killing 25 construction workers in the east of the country after abducting a group of 47 people last month. Reuters was unable to reach the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) for comment. The junta spokesman did not answer calls to seek further comment.