Myanmar’s ruling military government will release 5,864 prisoners, including 180 foreigners, under an amnesty, state media reported on Saturday.
The annual pardon will mark the country’s 77th Independence Day.
Where is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elderly prisoners were reportedly put under house arrest last year as a precaution against heat exhaustion.
Suu Kyi, who spent decades under house arrest during the previous military junta and has been a symbol of opposition to decades of military rule, has been in jail since the military seized power in 2021.
The Nobel laureate is serving a combined sentence of 27 years after being convicted on multiple criminal charges.
He has denied all charges against him and rights groups say his sentence is politically motivated.
at least 28,096 people have been arrested According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group, from 2021.
turmoil in myanmar
The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into violence and chaos after the military seized power from Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, 2021.
Security forces brutally cracked down on the protests and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.
According to Amnesty International, more than 4,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by the military as it attempted to establish control.
The military government has promised to hold elections this year, but opposition groups have criticized the move as a sham of political change aimed at appeasing the international community but keeping power in the hands of civilians. There is nothing to move in.
ESS/RM (Reuters, DW source)
