Families of detained Myanmar protesters have had their hopes dashed after political prisoners were not included in some 1,600 people released by the junta to mark the Buddhist new year.
The South-East Asian country has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government was ousted last year in a military coup, which sparked huge protests and a deadly crackdown.
State television announced on Sunday that 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreigners, had been "pardoned" and will be released to mark the new year — an annual tradition that last year saw 23,000 prisoners freed.
A prisoner released from Yangon's Insein prison said that "political cases and protesters were not among those released", with authorities only freeing criminals.
Crowds in front of the prison slowly left on Sunday afternoon, with more than 100 people gathering with the hope of being reunited with loved ones.
There was no mention of the Australian economist Sean Turnell, a former Suu Kyi adviser who was arrested shortly after the coup.
He is on trial for allegedly breaching the official secrets act, which carries a maximum 14-year jail sentence.
Among the crowd was a woman waiting for her 19-year-old nephew, sentenced to three years imprisonment for incitement against the military.
"He was young, and he may have some feeling to fight," she said, declining to give her name.
"I wish all young children will be released including my nephew. They all were innocent."
Aye Myint's 19-year-old daughter was serving three years on a political charge, and she had hoped she would be released.
"Now, she has been more than one year in prison," Aye Myint said.
The country typically grants an annual amnesty to thousands of prisoners to mark the Buddhist New Year, usually a joyous holiday celebrated in many parts with water fights.
But this year, with the bloody military crackdown on dissent, the streets in many major cities have been silent as people protest junta rule.
AFP/ABC
