The Burmese junta announced on Wednesday the amnesty of 2,153 prisoners sentenced for dissent against the military in power, on the occasion of a Buddhist festival.
The military has released "2,153 prisoners serving their sentences under Section 505(a)", it said in a statement, citing a vaguely worded law often used against journalists or activists under the pretext statements that could cause fear or concern in the population.
This controversial text, the use of which became widespread after the coup d'etat of February 1, 2021, provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison.
The army assured to act for "peace in the spirit of the population and on humanitarian bases".
Those who break the law again will have to serve the remainder of their sentence with an additional penalty, the statement said.
After the publication of the amnesty, about fifty people gathered in front of Insein prison in Rangoon.
As a yellow bus pulled out of the prison compound, some held up a sheet with the name of the detainee they hoped to see again.
An amnestied man was able to find his family in tears and hold his baby in his arms, noted AFP journalists on the spot.
"I don't know if he will be on the list, but it's my duty to come and wait for him," a woman told AFP on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“I thought this morning that it would be very good if my son were released today,” she continues.
The government is used to announcing large-scale amnesties to mark national or Buddhist holidays. The country celebrates a holy full moon day in the Buddhist calendar on Wednesday.
The announcement comes a day after junta leader Min Aung Hlaing met with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
More than 21,000 people have been arrested since the military putsch that ended the democratic parenthesis initiated by the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a local monitoring group.
The ensuing conflict between the army and its political and ethnic opponents left more than 3,400 dead, according to the same source.
The 77-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was sentenced to 33 years in prison on a litany of charges deemed political by human rights groups.
The junta, accused of carrying out a fierce crackdown on any dissenting voice, sentenced at least 170 journalists to prison terms, the United Nations estimated.
05/03/2023 09:47:50 - Rangoun (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
