hollywoodtone.blogspot.com 40 political prisoners freed in Myanmar so far
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com 40 political prisoners freed in Myanmar so far
Yangon - 40 political prisoners have been freed in Myanmar and president Thein Sein has granted 200 others amnesty. More releases are expected next week.
The prisoners were freed Tuesday after President Thein Sein granted a pardon Monday to people charged with political crimes such as unlawful association, high treason, contempt of government and violations of the peaceful assembly law, AlJazeera reports. The ruling has paused ongoing trials and investigations connected to anyone charged with such political offenses. “We welcome the amnesty,” said Tun Kyi, a member of a group in Myanmar working on behalf of the prisoners, Bloomberg reports. Myanmar released political prisoners in May just before President's Thein Sein visited the United States. President Sein made a promise in July that all political prisoners would be freed by the end of the year. More prisoner releases followed just days after. The prisoners freed had their names on a list constructed by the Political Prisoners Scrutinizing Committee said committee member Bo Kyi according to AlJazeera. He said that "more people are expected to be freed in the next batch in the first week of January. "We welcome the presidential pardon order. However, several steps need to be taken to maintain a level of zero political prisoners. There must be rule of law and more political freedom to maintain that level," Bo Kyi added. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut posted on his official Facebook page Tuesday that the president's promise has been kept. "There are no more political prisoners," he wrote according to VOA. According to Hmu Zaw, a senior official in the president's office, President Sein's amnesty includes not only those convicted of political crimes, but also those who are still awaiting trial. Hmu Zaw gave five reasons for the amnesty: For the sake of peace, for humanitarian reasons, for national reconciliation, to allow those freed to take part in the political process, and to help rebuild the nation. It is hard to say exactly how many prisoners total will be released. It is estimated to be around 200, but some may remain imprisoned because many political prisoners were also convicted of other crimes such as murder.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com 40 political prisoners freed in Myanmar so far