By Ra Wai / MPA
Yangon, Myanmar – Significant discrepancies have emerged following the Myanmar military council’s recent mass amnesty, with rights groups alleging that over 3,000 political prisoners remain in detention despite being officially listed for release.
On March 2, the military authorities announced the pardon of 7,337 prisoners convicted under the Counter-Terrorism Law—specifically Sections 50(j) and 52(a). However, the Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reports that as of March 4, nearly half of those expected to go home have not yet crossed the prison gates.
According to data released by PPNM, only 3,613 political prisoners from 31 prisons across the country have been confirmed released. This leaves a staggering gap of over 3,000 individuals whose legal status remains in limbo.
“In many prisons, those detained under Sections 52(a) and 50(j) were officially declared to be on the list. We knew their names and their expected release date,” Ma Yaung Ni Linn, a member of the PPNM leading committee, told MPA. “We waited through March 3rd and now into the afternoon of March 4th, but they are still being held inside.”
The situation appears particularly acute in Daik-U Prison, where PPNM claims that out of 250 political prisoners slated for release, more than 200 remain behind bars. Similar reports of withheld releases have surfaced from major facilities including Insein, Obo, Myingyan, and Maubin prisons.
The military council’s announcement also included the dropping of charges for over 12,000 individuals currently facing trial or who have fled the country. However, activists remain skeptical of the regime’s transparency.
“I believe this shows the military’s true intent,” said Ko Thaik Tun Oo, another leading member of PPNM. “They publicized a high figure like 7,000 to gain international or public favor, but in practice, thousands of political detainees are still being held as leverage.”
The amnesty was granted under Section 401(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a conditional release that typically dictates that if the individual is re-arrested, they must serve the remainder of their original sentence in addition to any new penalties.
Rights advocacy groups continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, arguing that the current “selective release” is a psychological tool used against the families of the detained.
As the families of the missing 3,000 wait outside prison walls, the military council has yet to provide an official explanation for the delay in processing the remaining detainees.
