Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court for first time since military coup

Myanmar's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has appeared in court in person for the first time since her government was overthrown by the military in February.

The hearing, in the capital Naypyidaw, was immediately adjourned. The former leader faces several charges including violating a state secrets law.

Before the hearing, Ms Suu Kyi was allowed to meet her lawyers in person for the first time.

She has been held under house arrest for the 16 weeks since she was deposed.

Myanmar's military has accused Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, of fraud in the general election it won last November.

Independent election monitors say the election was largely free and fair, and the charges against Ms Suu Kyi have been widely criticised as politically motivated.

Myanmar's military has brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protesters since the February coup, killing more than 800 people and detaining more than 4,000, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

The six charges against Ms Suu Kyi, 75, also include illegally importing handheld radios and breaching coronavirus rules. She was allowed 30 minutes with her lawyers on Monday before the hearing was adjourned.

They said she appeared to be in good health at the meeting in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, but had no access to news media during her house arrest and had limited knowledge of what was happening in the country.

Ms Suu Kyi "wished people good health", her lawyers said. She also made a reference to threats by the military to dissolve her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

"Our party grew out of the people so it will exist as long as people support it", she said, according to one of her lawyers, Khin Maung Zaw. (BBC)