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PoliticsAsia

Myanmar begins amnesty of more than 2,000 prisoners

June 30, 2021

Officials in Myanmar have said they are freeing 2,300 prisoners who had taken part in protests against the country's military rulers. No reason was given for the timing of their release.

https://p.dw.com/p/3vpYq
A protester holds up a painting of Aung San Suu Kyi to mark her birthday during a demonstration against the military coup
Myanmar, a former British colony, has been hit by anti-military protests since FebruaryImage: AFP

Myanmar’s government said it had started releasing more than 2,000 prisoners on Wednesday, including journalists who had been jailed for reporting on protests against the military.

Buses were seen taking freed detainees from the Insein prison in Yangon, where political prisoners are often held.

Deputy Information Minister Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun told the Chinese state news agency Xinhua the released prisoners were those “who took part in the protests but did not take part in the violence, who did not commit crimes and did not lead the riots.”

Junta controls soldiers' lives

No reason was given for the timing of the releases, but the UN General Assembly called this month for an arms embargo to be slapped on the Southeast Asian nation.

The amnesty had been announced by junta officials earlier in the day. A similar move was made at the end of April when the army freed more than 20,00 people during the Buddhist new year.

Most of those jailed are charged with public order offenses, while journalists have been specifically charged with spreading fake news.

Army crackdown over 'rigged' vote

The non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 883 people have been killed and more than 6,400 arrested since a coup d’etat earlier this year.

Myanmar’s military seized power in February, claiming that a November 2020 election won by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had been rigged.

Soldiers stand next to a military truck parked near the headquarters of the National League for Democracy party in Yangon, Myanmar
The army is currently in charge after ousting a democratically elected government earlier this yearImage: Uncredited/AP Photot/picture alliance

But international observers dismissed those claims, saying the election was free and fair.

The Asian Network for Free Elections said at the time that the outcome of the vote was "by and large, representative of the will of the people of Myanmar."

Suu Kyi and other elected officials were arrested on February 1. She went on trial for sedition on June 14th.

Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated and designed to discredit her.

Junta officials last week were hit by EU and UK sanctions over their crackdown.

jf/sms (AP, dpa)