The regime announced that it pardoned 4,893 prisoners on Thursday to commemorate the Myanmar New Year.
It added that a total of 13 foreign nationals were released and deported but their nationalities weren’t disclosed.
All the 4,893 prisoners were released in the 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.
The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM) reported that very few political prisoners were among those released in the amnesty.
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 regime has released no information about the 79-year-old’s health or well-being following the March 28 earthquake that killed at least 4,410 people, according to DVB data.
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.
