THE nation’s military rulers have granted amnesty to more than 3,000 political prisoners locked up for opposing army rule and dropped charges against over 5,500 others ahead of next month’s election, state media reported.
An official from Yangon’s Insein Prison, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to release information, said yesterday that prisoner releases would begin, but he did not provide the numbers and names of inmates to be freed. In some past amnesties, releases have taken several days.
Outside of Insein Prison, which for decades has served as the main place of detention for political prisoners, dozens of people gathered yesterday morning to welcome friends and relatives who were being freed under an amnesty.
It was not immediately clear whether the prisoner release would include former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held virtually incommunicado since the military’s seizure of power in February 2021.
State-run broadcaster MRTV said Wednesday that the amnesty was granted “to ensure that all eligible voters do not lose their right to vote and can cast their votes freely and fairly in the upcoming multi-party democratic general election” on Dec 28.
MRTV said Myanmar’s State Security and Peace Commission, which functions as the authority overseeing the transition to elections, granted amnesties covering 3,085 prisoners convicted under Section 505(A) of the penal code.
The provision, known as the incitement law, makes it a crime to spread comments that create public unrest or fear, or spread false news.
Many political detainees have been held on a charge of incitement, widely used to arrest critics of the government or military and punishable by up to three years in prison.
A total of 724 prisoners were given conditional release, meaning any future offence will require them to serve both the remaining portion of their original sentence and any new sentence, according to the announcement. — AP
