Among more than 7,000 prisoners granted amnesty by Myanmar's junta this week were about 300 political prisoners, the United Nations said Friday.
The military junta, which seized power nearly two years ago, announced on Wednesday it would free 7,012 prisoners to mark the 75th anniversary of Myanmar gaining independence. FILE PHOTO
The military junta, which seized power nearly two years ago, announced on Wednesday it would free 7,012 prisoners to mark the 75th anniversary of Myanmar gaining independence. "It's about 300 who were political prisoners," spokesman Jeremy Laurence told reporters, citing "credible sources".Local monitoring group AAPP also said it understood 300 political prisoners had been released. It had identified 223 of them and was working to verify other cases.
While welcoming the amnesty, Laurence pointed out that "on the very day that these political prisoners were released, another 22 were detained.And many of the people being detained for opposing military rule, he said, "have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment".
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