Tag: Prisoners

30 April 2026 By Ko Myo YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military junta has announced a mass amnesty for 1,508 prisoners to mark the religious holiday of Kason Full Moon Day, though monitoring groups remain skeptical about the number of political detainees included in the release. The amnesty, ordered on Thursday ...

22 April 2026 By Ko Myo WASHINGTON D.C. / BRUSSELS — The United States and the European Union have welcomed the recent release of several political prisoners in Myanmar but warned that the gesture must be followed by the unconditional freedom of all those remaining in detention, including Daw Aung ...

18 April 2026 By Ko Myo NEW YORK, USA — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has "taken note" of the release of Myanmar’s democratically elected President Win Myint, while intensifying calls for the immediate freedom of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other arbitrarily detained political prisoners. The President ...

YANGON, Myanmar — A coalition of more than 30 pro-democracy organizations has launched a 12-day "Blue Shirt Campaign" to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, including ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The movement, which began on Friday, April 10, ...

YANGON, Myanmar — A new coalition of veteran politicians and activists has formed the Political Coordination Body (PCB), calling for the immediate and unconditional release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint as a primary step to resolving Myanmar's protracted conflict. In its inaugural statement (1/2026) ...

THARRAWADDY, Myanmar — Prisoners in Myanmar’s Tharrawaddy jail are being systematically extorted by authorities to fund renovation costs whenever high-ranking officials or international monitors are scheduled to visit, according to former inmates and human rights activists. The practice, described by victims as a "systematic bribery scheme," involves forcing detainees to ...

YANGON, Myanmar — Thousands of female political prisoners in Myanmar are being subjected to a "prison without walls" after their release, with authorities systematically withholding their national identity cards and blacklisting them from international travel. The Women’s Organization for Political Prisoners (WOPP) reported on Thursday that over 50% of released ...

YANGON, Myanmar — Female political prisoners in Myanmar are being subjected to invasive body searches and 24-hour surveillance that amount to sexual harassment and a grave violation of human dignity, according to a new report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The report, titled "Oppressed Women Behind Barbed ...

SHWEBO, Myanmar — Authorities at Shwebo Prison in central Myanmar are running a systematic extortion racket, charging political prisoners and their families hundreds of dollars for basic visitation rights, according to a leading rights group. The Women’s Organization for Political Prisoners (WOPP) reported on Monday that families are being forced ...

SHWEBO, Myanmar — Female political prisoners in central Myanmar are being forced to live on meager food scraps remaining only after prison guards have fed their own families and livestock, according to reports emerging from Shwebo Prison. Sources close to the facility in the Sagaing Region allege a disturbing hierarchy ...