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Australian economist, former UK ambassador among thousands freed in Myanmar amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

The surprise announcement comes as the country’s military junta continues to face pressure both at home and abroad Myanmar’s military junta will release thousands of prisoners, including political detainees and a number of prominent foreigners, as part of a general amnesty announced on Thursday, according to state media. Among those set to be freed are […]

Veteran activist Mya Aye and other prominent junta critics released as part of mass amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

Several of those freed under an amnesty announced on Thursday had been arrested on the day of last year’s coup Veteran democracy activist Mya Aye, who has been in junta custody since the military seized power in February of last year, was among nearly 5,800 prisoners pardoned in a mass amnesty on Thursday. He was […]

Australian economist, former UK ambassador among thousands freed in Myanmar amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

Veteran activist Mya Aye and other prominent junta critics released as part of mass amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

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Australian economist, former UK ambassador among thousands freed in Myanmar amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

The surprise announcement comes as the country’s military junta continues to face pressure both at home and abroad

Myanmar’s military junta will release thousands of prisoners, including political detainees and a number of prominent foreigners, as part of a general amnesty announced on Thursday, according to state media.

Among those set to be freed are Sean Turnell, an Australian economist who has been detained since the regime seized power in February 2021, and Vicky Bowman, a former British ambassador to Myanmar who was arrested in August.

The amnesty, which was announced to mark Myanmar’s National Day, will see the release of 5,744 prisoners. Among them are some detained under Section 505a of the Penal Code for incitement in the wake of last year’s coup.

Turnell, who was an economic advisor to ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced in late September to three years in prison under the Official Secrets Act and Immigration Act by a junta-controlled court in the regime’s administrative capital Naypyitaw.

Suu Kyi and other senior leaders of her deposed ruling party, the National League for Democracy, were not included in the amnesty.

Bowman and her husband, Myanmar national Htein Lin, were both handed one-year sentences in September for immigration offenses related to the former ambassador’s alleged violation of the terms of her visa. Htein Lin will also be freed under the amnesty.

Two other foreign nationals—Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota, who was sentenced last month to ten years in prison for his contact with anti-coup protesters during the making of a documentary, and Kyaw Htay Oo, an American citizen arrested on terrorism charges—were also named in Thursday’s announcement.

All four of the foreigners included in the amnesty will be deported, according to state media reports.

The regime has also dropped charges against 11 Myanmar celebrities convicted in absentia for their role in opposing the military takeover, the reports added.

Myanmar’s military continues to face staunch opposition to its rule nearly two years after overthrowing the country’s civilian government. Like previous juntas, the current regime has announced a number of amnesties since seizing power to ease both domestic and international pressure.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the regime has arrested more than 16,232 dissidents since the coup, of whom more than 13,000 remain in junta custody.

Myanmar Now News

Veteran activist Mya Aye and other prominent junta critics released as part of mass amnesty

November 17, 2022/in News

Several of those freed under an amnesty announced on Thursday had been arrested on the day of last year’s coup

Veteran democracy activist Mya Aye, who has been in junta custody since the military seized power in February of last year, was among nearly 5,800 prisoners pardoned in a mass amnesty on Thursday. He was released from Yangon’s Insein Prison along with several other detainees on Thursday afternoon.

A regime-controlled court sentenced the prominent ‘88 generation student leader to two years in prison in March under Section 505c of the Penal Code for “inciting hate towards an ethnicity or a community.” He was handed the sentence on his 56th birthday.

“I will always be with the people of Myanmar,” he told reporters gathered outside the prison upon his release.

Several others arrested on the day of the February 2021 coup were also freed on Thursday, including two senior members of the ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy—party spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt and legal advisor Kyaw Ho.

Satirist Maung Thar Cho and junta critic Ven. Pyinya Thiha—a senior monk better known as Shwe Nya Wah Sayadaw—were among the other notable figures released after more than 21 months in detention.
Maung_thar_cho-1.Jpeg

Writer Maung Thar Cho is seen outside Insein Prison on November 17 (Supplied by citizen journalist)

A total of 143 prisoners were due to be released from prisons in Mandalay Region, including 14 from Obo Prison. Several sources confirmed that those released from prisons across the country include a number of journalists held for incitement.

Four foreign nationals—Australian economist Sean Turnell, former UK diplomat Vicky Bowman, Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota, and American botanist Kyaw Htay Oo—were also among those freed. The military said the four would be deported upon their release. Details are still unknown.

Also granted amnesty were the ousted minister of the State Counsellor’s Office Kyaw Tint Swe and former Tanintharyi Region chief minister Le Le Maw, who had been sentenced before the coup to 30 years behind bars for corruption.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, another longtime critic of the military, was released on Tuesday after completing a two-year sentence. However, singer Saw Phoe Khwar was re-arrested on the same day and sent to Taungoo Prison in Bago Region after another charge was filed against him. Further details were not available at the time of reporting.
Insein_prison.jpeg

Families wait outside Insein Prison as prison authorities begin to release detainees granted an amnesty on November 17 (Supplied by citizen journalist)

Myanmar Now News

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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