2 yıl önce

Myanmar junta to pardon over 800 prisoners

Military rule in Myanmar has announced that the amnesty will be placed on the nation’s Union Day.

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar have marked the one-year anniversary of the army's seizure of power with a nationwide strike to show their strength and solidarity amid concern about what has become an increasingly violent contention for power.

Myanmar's junta has said it would release over 800 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country's Union Day.

According to a "pardon order in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee Union Day", 814 prisoners would be released, the statement by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said on Saturday.

Union Day falls on Saturday.

Myanmar’s military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021 by deposing the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi over allegations of fraud in the 2020 general elections.

The army arrested leaders and officials of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and declared a state of emergency, which has been extended until the middle of this year.

Suu Kyi faces a number of cases and was sentenced to six years in jail for charges that include violating coronavirus restrictions and possessing “illegally imported” walkie-talkies.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the military overthrew an elected government a year ago, with around 1,500 civilians killed in the junta's crackdown on its opponents, according to figures cited by the United Nations human rights office.

Troops in the countryside are also fighting on multiple fronts with pro-democracy groups that have taken up arms and ethnic minority forces.