Myanmar pardons more than 6,100 prisoners

Myanmar’s military government has pardoned 6,134 prisoners to mark the country’s 78th Independence Day and maintain friendly relations between countries, it said on Sunday.

They include 52 foreigners, according to a statement. Details of their nationalities were not given.

However, the amnesty does not apply to the de facto head of government, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed by the army in 2021 and sentenced to at least 27 years in prison in several trials.

According to initial reports, some prominent prisoners were among those released, such as former information minister Ye Htut. He was jailed for 10 years in 2023 after he was found guilty of disseminating false information and inciting rebellion.

It remained unclear how many political prisoners were affected by the amnesty.

The army staged a coup on February 1, 2021, and deposed the democratically elected leader Suu Kyi for alleged electoral fraud in previous parliamentary polls.

Now 80, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate later received multiple long prison sentences. It is unclear where she is being held and in what state of health she is in.

In September, her son called for her immediate release, saying she has been suffering from worsening heart complications.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the military has detained more than 30,216 people since the coup, with around 22,682 still in custody.

At least 7,640 people have been killed by the junta during its crackdown.