As part of a new mass amnesty in the crisis country of Myanmar, the military junta has announced the release of more than 7,000 prisoners. The occasion is the 75th anniversary of independence from the former British colonial power, as reported by state television.
It was not initially known whether and how many political prisoners would be released. Since the morning, numerous family members of prisoners have been waiting in front of the prisons of the former Burma – above all in front of the Insein prison in the largest city of Yangon (formerly: Rangoon), which is notorious for its torture methods.
“So far, only five buses have come out. There were only a few political prisoners in them,” said Hnin Hnin, who himself was temporarily imprisoned for his resistance to the military junta, the German Press Agency. Thousands of people have gathered in front of the prison gates and are waiting for the possible release of their loved ones, he explained.
Almost 17,000 people have been imprisoned in the past two years
Since the military coup on February 1, 2021 and the removal of de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi from power, the junta has ruled with an iron fist. The military cracks down on any resistance. Arbitrary arrests are frequent. According to the prisoner aid organization AAPP, nearly 17,000 people have been imprisoned and almost 2,700 killed in the past two years. Suu Kyi has been sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison by a junta-controlled court on various charges and is being held in solitary confinement.
The generals had already released around 5,700 prisoners on the occasion of the national holiday in mid-November. Among them were several prominent foreigners, such as Australian economics professor and former adviser to Suu Kyi, Sean Turnell, and former British ambassador to the country, Vicky Bowman.
