Irrawaddy-Nov 17
Myanmar’s military regime released some political prisoners including a minister from the country’s ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), the party’s spokesperson, a former student leader and an anti-regime activist Buddhist monk among almost 6,000 prisoners granted amnesty on Thursday. Ko Mya Aye, one of the leaders of the ’88 Generation Students group, was released from Yangon’s Insein Prison along with the NLD’s spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt. Both were arrested by the regime on the first day of the coup on Feb. 1 last year. Writer Maung Tha Cho, who is known for his satirical pieces criticizing the Myanmar military before the coup, and Shwe Nyawa Sayadaw, an anti-regime Buddhist monk, were among those freed from the same prison. Also released was U Kyaw Tint Swe, a former Union minister for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Office of the State Counselor; U Than Htay, a former member of the Union Election Commission; and Daw Lae Lae Maw, a former chief minister of Tanintharyi Region who was jailed for 30 years for corruption in 2020 under the NLD government, state media announced. The pardon also saw the releases of detained high-profile foreigners Sean Turnell, an Australian economist and former adviser to now detained Myanmar democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; former British envoy Vicky Bowman and her Myanmar husband; and Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota. The regime said they will be deported on Thursday afternoon.
The regime’s state media said the mass amnesty announced on Thursday was to mark the country’s National Day. The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), a local advocacy group for prisoners’ rights, told The Irrawaddy it had recorded the release of 52 political prisoners from the regime’s prisons in Yangon, Bago and Mandalay regions as of Thursday afternoon. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/some-political-prisoners-among-almost-6000-freed-in-myanmar-junta-amnesty.html
