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Myanmar Junta Orders Pre-Election Amnesty, Begins Releasing Prisoners

Rights groups say the move is image management before polls widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.

Overview

  • The order covers 8,665 people: 3,085 convicted under Section 505A receive sentence reductions and charges against 5,580 others are dropped.
  • Authorities also granted conditional release to 724 prisoners, meaning any new offense would reactivate their original sentences.
  • Reporters observed about 200 people leaving Yangon’s Insein Prison, indicating releases are underway.
  • NLD information chief Kyi Toe was among those freed, while Aung San Suu Kyi’s status was not specified.
  • Watchdogs cite more than 22,000 people still in detention and highlight a new law imposing up to 10 years in prison for criticizing the election scheduled to begin December 28.