BANGKOK — Myanmar\u2019s military government granted amnesty to more than 6,100 prisoners and reduced other inmates\u2019 sentences Sunday to mark the 78th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule.<\/p>\n
The amnesty comes as the military government proceeds with a monthlong, three-stage election process<\/a> that critics say is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to the status quo.<\/p>\n State-run MRTV television reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing<\/a>, the head of the military government, pardoned 6,134 prisoners.<\/p>\n A separate statement said 52 foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar. No comprehensive list of those freed is available.<\/p>\n \u200b\u200bOther prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape or those jailed on charges under various other security acts.<\/p>\n The release terms warn that if the freed detainees violate the law again, they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence.<\/p>\n The prisoner releases, common on holidays and other significant occasions in Myanmar, began Sunday and are expected to take several days to complete. <\/p>\n At Yangon’s Insein Prison, which is notorious for housing political detainees, relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates early in the morning.<\/p>\n However, there was no sign that the prisoner release would include former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in the military takeover<\/a> in 2021 and has been held virtually incommunicado since then. <\/p>\n