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Myanmar’s military government has announced it will release 6,186 prisoners as part of an amnesty marking the country’s Independence Day, according to state media reports on Saturday. The decision comes at a highly sensitive time, just a week after the start of a multi-stage general election in the conflict-ridden Southeast Asian nation.
State-run broadcaster MRTV described the amnesty as a humanitarian gesture intended to promote public peace of mind. Among those set to be freed are 52 foreign nationals. In addition to the releases, the ruling junta has ordered a nationwide reduction of prison sentences by one-sixth. However, this sentence reduction will not apply to individuals convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape, terrorism, corruption, or offences related to drugs and weapons.
Authorities have not clarified whether political prisoners will be included in the amnesty, a key concern for human rights groups and the international community. Since the military coup in 2021, Myanmar has experienced severe political instability after the armed forces overthrew the elected civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Her National League for Democracy had won a landslide victory in the previous election but was later dissolved by the junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a combined 27-year prison sentence following her detention during the coup. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 30,000 people have been detained on political charges since the military takeover.
Myanmar continues to face widespread violence, with newly formed resistance groups and long-established ethnic armed organizations battling the military across large parts of the country. The conflict has displaced an estimated 3.6 million people. Meanwhile, the ongoing election, Myanmar’s first since 2020, has been widely condemned by opposition groups, the United Nations, and several Western governments as neither free nor fair, as anti-junta parties are excluded and criticism of the vote is illegal.
