By Ra Wai / MPA
Advocacy groups say very few political detainees were included in a mass amnesty of more than 6,000 prisoners granted by Myanmar’s military authorities to mark Independence Day.
On 4 January, the military commission announced the release of 6,134 inmates under Section 401(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, monitoring groups suggest the vast majority of those freed were serving sentences for non-political crimes.
“From what we have gathered so far regarding yesterday’s releases, the number of political prisoners is extremely low,” Ma Yaung Ni Lin, information officer for the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM), told MPA.
“They are not categorized as ‘political cases’ by the authorities. So far, we have only been able to confirm two notable releases from Insein Prison: U Ye Htut and one female prisoner. However, that female prisoner had actually been charged with robbery,” she added.
The most prominent figure among those freed is U Ye Htut, the former Information Minister under the USDP government. He was arrested by the military in late October 2023 and sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison—three years under Section 505(a) for incitement and seven years under Section 124(a) for sedition.
U Ye Htut served just over two years and two months of his sentence in Yangon’s Insein Prison before his release.
The amnesty order came with significant caveats. The military authorities clarified that the pardon—which reduced remaining sentences by one-sixth—did not apply to those convicted of serious crimes.
Because many pro-democracy activists and political opponents have been charged under anti-terrorism and explosives laws since the 2021 coup, these exclusions effectively ensure that the majority of political detainees remain behind bars.
In a separate announcement, the authorities confirmed that 52 foreign prisoners were also granted amnesty and have been ordered for deportation.
