Myanmar’s military government has granted amnesty to more than 6,100 prisoners, including 52 foreigners marking 78th anniversary of the country’s independence from Great Britain.
Myanmar’s military government has pardoned more than 6,100 prisoners, including 52 foreign nationals on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of independence from Britain. The government has also reduced the sentence of various others on this occasion, convicted of serious crimes: rape, drug offences, and murder.
This happened amid preparations for the 2026 elections and ongoing armed confrontation.
It was also not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule.
The amnesty comes as the military government comes with a long-standing three-stage election process that the opposition says is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to the status quo.
Local television channel, MRTV reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, pardoned 6,134 prisoners.
Foreign nationals to be deported
A separate statement said 52 foreign nationals will also be released and immediately deported from the country after their release. No comprehensive list of those freed is available.
Armed confrontation continues in the country between the army and resistance forces. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 21,000 people remain in custody since the military seized power, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The release terms warn that if the freed detainees violate the law again, they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence.
Prisoner releases come on holidays
The prisoner releases, common on holidays and other significant occasions in Myanmar, began Sunday and are expected to take several days to complete.
At Yangon’s Insein Prison, which is notorious for housing political detainees, relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates early in the morning.
Suu Kyi serving sentence
The 80-year-old Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted in what supporters have called politically tinged prosecutions.
Many political detainees had been held on a charge of incitement, a catch-all offense widely used to arrest critics of the government or military and punishable by up to three years in prison.
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