Myanmar's ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday denied a charge of incitement to cause public alarm, in her first court testimony since a military takeover of the country in February. 

Foreign media reported that Suu Kyi had denied incitement in connection with her party publishing a letter in February calling on international organizations not to cooperate with the junta.

Suu Kyi is being held at an undisclosed location and attended Tuesday's hearings at a specially built court in the Southeast Asian country's capital, Naypyidaw.

She is charged with a litany of offenses, including breaking coronavirus protocols, illegally possessing two-way radios, accepting bribes of cash and gold, incitement to cause public alarm and violating the Official Secrets Act.

Her lawyers have rejected the accusations, which they said Suu Kyi has characterized as "absurd."

The 76-year-old civilian leader led Myanmar's government after her party swept a 2015 election called after the military stepped back from half a century of direct rule.

At a regional summit on Tuesday, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had decided to exclude Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who led the February 1 takeover that spiraled into violence and chaos, for his failure to cease hostilities, allow humanitarian access and start dialogue.

(With input from Reuters)