The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported that at least 22 political prisoners were among the 4,893 total released on Thursday as part of a regime amnesty to commemorate the Myanmar New Year.

“I had served a year and a half and was released just as my sentence was nearing its completion,” a prisoner, among the estimated 1,000 freed from Insein Prison in Yangon, told DVB on condition of anonymity. 

PPNM shared on social media that political prisoners were released from prisons in Bago, Tanintharyi, Mandalay and Magway regions. It added that further updates would follow.

“Most of the released inmates had nearly completed their sentences. The majority were convicted of theft and burglary,” a family member of a political prisoner freed from prison in Pyay Prison in Bago Region told DVB.

Pyay Prison released 70, including nine political prisoners, while Paungde Prison released 31, including two political prisoners, the family member added. Paungde and Pyay townships are located 142-183 miles (228-294 km) north of the region’s capital Bago.

All 4,893 prisoners were released in a regime amnesty on the condition that if they reoffend they will return to prison to serve the remainder of their original sentence and any additional sentence imposed by the court.

The regime claimed that some sentences had been reduced by one-sixth, except in convictions of drugs, rape, murder, terrorism, corruption, weapons offences, or “natural disaster management,” which is when a citizen violates government orders related to a natural disaster.

Jailed Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year prison sentence after she was convicted of multiple offences, including corruption and violating the natural disaster management law.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that there are 22,197 political prisoners in Myanmar. A total of 29,030 have been arrested since the 2021 military coup.