A Myanmar junta trial of Aung San Suu Kyi will run longer than scheduled, her lawyers said Monday, with the prosecution still to call nearly two dozen witnesses.

The coup-ousted leader, who is under house arrest, faces an eclectic raft of charges in a trial her legal team had expected would be wrapped up by the end of July.

But with 23 witnesses still to go, "even the close of the prosecution side won't be possible" by then, said her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw.

Suu Kyi was deposed by the military in February, sparking a mass uprising and a brutal crackdown. More than 880 civilians have been killed by the junta's forces, according to a local monitoring group.

Cut off from the outside world except for brief meetings with her legal team and her court appearances, Suu Kyi appeared at the specially set up tribunal in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday to hear four junta witnesses testify against her.

She is charged with flouting coronavirus restrictions during 2020 elections that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won in a landslide, and illegally importing and possessing walkie talkies.

The Nobel laureate, 76, also faces separate charges of accepting illegal payments of gold and violating a colonial-era secrecy law. She could be jailed for more than a decade if convicted on all counts.

She was alert and appeared in good health at Monday's hearing — which also heard testimony that former president Win Myint broke coronavirus regulations — her lawyer Min Min Soe told AFP.

She asked "about the (Covid-19) situation for the whole country, and how it is in Naypyidaw as well".

"(Suu Kyi) asked all to be careful regarding covid. She's worrying very much for the people," Min Min Soe said.

Last month, Suu Kyi used her first in-person court appearance to voice defiance against the junta, insisting that the NLD would "exist as long as people exist because it was founded for people".

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has justified his power grab by claiming electoral fraud in the November poll, and has threatened to dissolve the NLD.

In an interview broadcast Monday he told Russian news channel RIA Novosti that the junta would "definitely organise new, fair elections," after "taking the measures necessary for them to take place," without providing details.

Aung San Suu Kyi urges Myanmar to stay 'united'
Yangon (AFP) June 29, 2021 –

Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked the people of Myanmar to stay "united" in the face of military rule, her lawyers said Tuesday, as she reappeared in a junta court.

The Nobel laureate, and daughter of independence hero General Aung San, has been under house arrest since a February coup that sparked huge pro-democracy protests the junta has tried to crush with deadly force.

Invisible to the outside world bar a handful of courtroom appearances, Suu Kyi, 76, has been hit with an eclectic raft of charges. She could face more than a decade in prison if convicted on all counts.

On Tuesday, she heard testimony that she flouted coronavirus restrictions during elections her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide last year, her lawyer Min Min Soe told reporters.

"She asked the people to stay united and be consistent," she added.

The specially-convened court in the capital Naypyidaw also heard testimony on a separate charge of sedition, although Suu Kyi's legal team argued two documents submitted by the prosecution were inadmissible as they were unsigned.

Former president Win Myint and senior NLD leader Myo Aung are also on trial for sedition and appeared beside Suu Kyi on Tuesday.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since Suu Kyi's ouster, with huge protests, renewed clashes between the military and ethnic rebel armies in border regions and an economy spiralling into freefall.

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has justified his power grab by citing alleged electoral fraud in the November poll won by the NLD.

The military has cracked down brutally on dissent — shooting protesters, arresting suspected dissidents in night raids, shutting down news outlets and rounding up journalists.

More than 880 civilians have been killed, according to a local monitoring group.