{"id":10708,"date":"2011-10-11T21:10:52","date_gmt":"2011-10-11T21:10:52","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-10-11T21:10:52","modified_gmt":"2011-10-11T21:10:52","slug":"Myanmar-frees-dozens-of-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=10708","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Myanmar freed dozens of political prisoners on Wednesday, including one of its most famous comedians, in the latest sign of change in the authoritarian state after decades of repression.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The release of roughly 2,000 political detainees including pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers, has long been a key demand of Western powers that have imposed sanctions on the country.<\/p>\n

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party said that about 120 political prisoners had been pardoned, and suggested the figure could still increase.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A number of political prisoners were pardoned at Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, including student activist Aung Kyaw Soe<\/strong>, who was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to death, later reduced to life in prison.<\/p>\n

Many of Myanmar’s political prisoners were sentenced to decades in jail and have endured “torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”, <\/strong>according to rights group Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

A mass pardon of dissidents would be arguably the clearest sign yet of change under a new government<\/strong> that has reached out to critics including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi<\/strong>, who was freed in November.<\/p>\n

State television announced on Tuesday that more than 6,300 elderly, sick, disabled or well-behaved prisoners would be granted an amnesty from Wednesday “on humanitarian grounds”.<\/p>\n

It said freeing detainees would allow them to “help to build a new nation”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source AP<\/em>
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