Myanmar’s military government has released over 6,000 prisoners in a mass amnesty to mark the country’s 77th Independence Day, state media reported on Saturday.
The release, which comes amid long-standing demands from rights groups and international governments to free political detainees, included only a small number of individuals jailed for opposing the military regime.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military regime, granted pardons for 5,864 domestic prisoners and 180 foreign nationals, who will be deported, according to state-run MRTV.
Mass amnesties are a common practice on national holidays in Myanmar, but the majority of those freed are rarely political detainees.
Among those released were approximately 600 prisoners prosecuted under Section 505(A) of Myanmar’s penal code, a broad law used by the military to jail critics for spreading “false news” or creating public unrest.
One notable release was Khet Aung, the former chief minister of Kachin State, who had been serving a 12-year sentence on corruption charges since his arrest following the coup.
Major general Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the junta, said many of the freed foreign prisoners included Thais arrested for gambling in the border town of Tachileik and Indonesians detained for fishing in Myanmar’s territorial waters.
He did not confirm whether four Thai fishermen detained after a November border clash were among those released.
While buses departed from Yangon’s Insein Prison on Saturday, carrying freed detainees to reunite with waiting families, there was no indication that Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, was among those pardoned.
Ms Suu Kyi, who has been held incommunicado since the coup, is serving a 27-year sentence after a series of trials that her supporters and rights groups say were politically motivated.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a monitoring organisation, estimates that 28,096 people have been arrested on political charges since the coup, with 21,499 still in detention as of Friday. The group also reports that over 6,100 civilians have been killed by security forces during the same period.
The military government’s amnesty also included sentence reductions for other prisoners, with most receiving a one-sixth reduction in their terms. However, those convicted under anti-terrorism laws and other statutes commonly used to target political dissidents were excluded from this leniency.
Independence Day commemorates Myanmar’s liberation from British colonial rule on 4 January 1948. The junta marked the anniversary with a flag-raising ceremony in Naypyidaw.
Additional reporting by agencies.
