Myanmar’s ruling military council yesterday said that it was releasing more than 2,100 political prisoners as a humanitarian gesture.
Thousands more remain imprisoned on charges generally involving nonviolent protests or criticism of military rule, which began when the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
State-run MRTV reported that the head of Myanmar’s military council, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, had pardoned 2,153 prisoners on the most important Buddhist holy day of the year, marking the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
Photo: AFP
The releases began yesterday, but might take a few days to be completed. The identities of those released were not immediately available, but would not include Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving a prison term of 33 years on more than a dozen charges that her supporters say were trumped up by the military.
According to an official announcement on state media, all of the prisoners granted pardon yesterday had been convicted under a section of Myanmar’s penal code that makes it a crime to spread comments that create public unrest or fear, or spread false news, and carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.
The terms of the pardon warn that if the freed detainees contravene the law again, they would have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to whatever term they are given for their new offense.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners on Tuesday said that 17,897 people taken into custody since the 2021 army takeover remained in detention.
The group keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the repression of the military government.
Last week, former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar’s military to take the initiative in finding a way out of the country’s violent political crisis, including releasing political detainees, after a surprise meeting with Min Aung Hlaing.
A statement following the meeting said that Ban “supported the international community’s calls for the immediate release by the Myanmar military of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, for constructive dialogue, and for utmost restraint from all parties.”
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