Independence Day amnesty frees 6,186 prisoners; Preliminary results from Myanmar elections released

Independence Day amnesty frees 6,186 prisoners

Sources close to Yangon’s Insein Prison told DVB that 850 were among a total of 6,186 prisoners released from prisons across the country on Sunday in an amnesty to mark Burma’s 78th Independence Day. The sources added that the only political prisoner freed was Ye Htut, a former minister serving a 10-year sentence at Insein Prison for criticizing the military on social media in October 2023.

Sources told DVB that State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who have been held incommunicado since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, were not released in this amnesty. Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence, while Win Myint is serving eight, after both faced a litany of charges by regime courts. DVB is awaiting confirmation if any political prisoners are among the over 6,000 released nationwide.