Manila, Philippines ? American missionary Gracia Burnham testified against the Muslim extremists who allegedly abducted her in a heavily guarded court Thursday, recounting her yearlong jungle captivity that ended with her husband dead in a commando rescue mission.

Philippine authorities and U.S. FBI agents brought Burnham, who arrived in secrecy late Monday, from an undisclosed Manila safehouse to a suburban court trying the Abu Sayyaf militants.

A horde of journalists, photographers and TV cameramen was barred from covering the proceedings in a police camp with a heavy presence of police special forces, including a bomb squad.

Police prevented photographers from taking pictures of Burnham as she was whisked into the courtroom wearing a baseball cap and a black jacket.

Prosecutor Leo Dacera said Burnham was expected to reveal previously unavailable details of the kidnapping because she was the longest-held hostage.

A lawyer for one of the accused, Alhamzer Manatad Limbong, said Burnham’s testimony would not hurt his defense.

“It’s only good for drama, but for purposes of establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Burnham testimony is not enough. We have witnesses who say that he is innocent,” said defense lawyer Oliver Lozano.

Police Chief Inspector Bartolome Bustamante said Burnham was “poised and calm and speaking spontaneously” on the witness stand.

“She didn’t sound emotional or rattled,” Bustamante said, adding that the Abu Sayyaf suspects were only a few feet (meters) away, separated from her by only a glass panel.

Burnham, from Wichita, Kan., was invited to testify under a mutual legal assistance treaty between Washington and Manila. The trial is part of the Philippines’ quest to impose justice on suspected al-Qaida-linked militants accused of mass kidnappings, deadly bombings and beheadings. For Burnham, the trial could provide closure to her 377-day nightmare.

Gracia and Martin Burnham, longtime missionaries here for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when the Abu Sayyaf snatched them at the upscale Dos Palmas resort.

An army raid on June 7, 2002, left Mrs. Burnham with a gunshot wound to her thigh and killed her husband, ending a hostage crisis that led Washington to provide counterterrorism training for Philippine forces.