Aung San Suu Kyi’s defence of Myanmar’s military during a court hearing over the alleged 2017 genocide has been strongly criticised.

The de facto civilian leader of Myanmar appeared at the International Court of Justice in The Hague ​on Wednesday to deny claims her nation’s armed forces raped, killed and terrorised hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya people during a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine State.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who spent decades under house arrest by the very same military for her pro-democracy activism, said the well-documented allegations of genocide were, in fact, a legitimate response to an armed insurgency.

But lawyers representing The Gambia, which has spearheaded the legal action on behalf of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, condemned her refusal to acknowledge the copious evidence that Burmese soldiers had repeatedly killed civilians and razed entire Rohingya villages to the ground.

Paul Reicher, a lawyer for The Gambia, said Ms Suu Kyi had shamefully entirely ignored the issue of “unspeakable” sexual violence in the Rohingya conflict.

Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Show all 30 1 /30 Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya women and children wait in line for a food distribution of super cereal at Action Against Hunger Getty Images Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees gather near the fence in the "no man's land" zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh border AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya women cry as they shout slogans during a protest rally to commemorate the first anniversary of Myanmar army's crackdown AP Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures A Rohingya Muslim child holding an umbrella while under the rain AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees cry as they pray during a gathering to commemorate the first anniversary of Myanmar army's crackdown which lead to a mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh AP Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Police stand near the checkpoint at the Shwe Zar village in Maungdaw township, Rakhine State, western Myanmar EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures A group of Rohingya refugee children stand at a makeshift camp EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugee Juhara, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, poses for a portrait at the Kutapalong refugee camp near Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh. Juhara passes her days carting water with difficulty to thirsty bricklayers working in a bustling corner of Cox's Bazar. She has just one hand - the other was cleaved off in a raid on her village after the August 25 clampdown started last year. Her husband and parents were killed. The 40-year-old said she ran for her life but was hunted down and savagely attacked AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees walk on a road along a makeshift camp in Kutubpalang EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees are seen outside of their makeshift tent in the Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar Reuters Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Thousands of Rohingya refugees staged protests for "justice" on August 25 on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that forced them to flee to camps in Bangladesh AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures A Rohingya refugee child looks through a window at a makeshift camp in Teknuf EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugee women hold placards as they take part in a protest at the Kutupalong refugee camp Reuters Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures A young Rohingya boy waits in line for a food Getty Images Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees shout slogans during a protest march AFP/Getty Images Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugee girl with other children at a makeshift camp in Teknuf in Cox's Bazar EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya women protest on the first anniversary of the Rohingya crisis Getty Images Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya women and children receive super cereal at Action Against Hunger Getty Images Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya girls share a laugh in Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp housing the Rohingya Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees gather near the fence in the "no man's land" zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh border AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees attend a ceremony organised to remember the first anniversary of a military crackdown that prompted a massive exodus of people from Myanmar to Bangladesh AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rashida Begum, a Rohingya refugee woman walks on the Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar Reuters Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures A Rohingya refugee bursts into tears as she shouts slogans during a protest march AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugee baby Nur Sadek two years old undergoing treatment at a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) hospital in Teknuf in Cox's Bazar EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees protest Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees perform prayers AFP/Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rashida Begum, a Rohingya refugee woman bathes her son in the Kutupalong camp Reuters Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees protest Getty Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy road EPA Rohingya crisis one year on – Myanmar camps in pictures Rohingya women and children wait in line for a food distribution of super cereal at Action Against Hunger Getty

“We heard nothing about sexual violence from Myanmar yesterday, not a single word about it,” he said.

“Because it is undeniable and unspeakable, they chose to ignore it completely. I can’t really blame them. I would hate having to be the one to defend it.”

Regardless of Ms Suu Kyi’s attempts to describe the situation as “complicated” and unfortunate, the reality was the evidence all pointed towards a deliberate genocide by Myanmar’s army against its Muslim Rohingya minority, Mr Reicher said.

“There is no reasonable conclusion to draw other than the inference of genocidal intent from the state’s pattern of conduct,” he said.

“Everyone was a target and no one was spared. Mothers, infants, pregnant women, the old and infirm. They all fell victim to this ruthless campaign.”

Ms Suu Kyi, for years seen as a hero by the wider world for her tireless campaign against the military junta that ruled Myanmar as a dictatorship, has seen her credibility and respect shredded in recent years.

Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court over Myanmar genocide charges

She has repeatedly denied the state’s actions in Rakhine State were anything other than a proportionate response to a domestic insurgency, prompting condemnation from several of her fellow Peace Prize recipients.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in response to the violent campaign launched by the army in 2017.

The case at the International Court of Justice was brought by The Gambia on behalf of a 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority nations. It wants the UN’s top court to rule on whether Myanmar’s military leaders committed genocide and take actions to prevent any such acts occurring again.

Throughout the three days of the hearing, Ms Suu Kyi has watched on impassively as evidence, including photos and personal testimony, was brought detailing the crimes committed by her nation’s armed forces against the Rohingya.

Once lauded by human rights organisations, the 74-year-old is now castigated as an apologist for war crimes.

“Aung San Suu Kyi tried to downplay the severity of the crimes committed against the Rohingya population,” Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s regional director, said in a statement.

“In fact, she wouldn’t even refer to them by name or acknowledge the scale of the abuses. Such denials are deliberate, deceitful and dangerous.”

Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim crisis explained

Experts of Burmese politics suggest, as well as sharing the military’s anti-Muslim prejudice, Ms Suu Kyi may also be trying to position her party, the National League for Democracy, for next year’s elections.

By defending the country in the eyes of the world, she can build public support within Myanmar to force the military to give up more of its grip on the country’s political apparatus.

“[She] is presenting herself as defending Myanmar at The Hague and quite a large number of her supporters see her as doing just that,” said Jane Ferguson, an anthropologist at the Australian National University.

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“Many people in Myanmar see the Rohingya issue as a kind of Muslim conspiracy to take over Myanmar.”