Only 378 political prisoners were among the 4,893 prisoners released nationwide in the Myanmar New Year Day amnesty on April 17, according to the Political Prisoners Network of Myanmar (PPNM).
“Only when resistance forces break down the prison doors will [political prisoners] be free,” Thaik Tun Oo, the PPNM spokesperson, told DVB on Friday.
The 378 political prisoners, including 221 men and 157 women, were held in 33 prisons across the country with 200 freed from Yangon’s Insein Prison, added Thaik Tun Oo.
Journalist Hanthar Nyein and filmmaker Dwe Myittar, also known as Steel, were released on April 17.
Hanthar Nyein is the co-founder of Kamayut Media. He was arrested on March 8, 2021, alongside Nathan Maung during a raid on their newsroom.
Maung, a Burmese-American journalist, was released on June 15, 2021 after his charges were dropped and he was subsequently deported to the U.S.
Upon his release, he launched an international advocacy campaign to free Hanthar Nyein, who was serving a seven‑year sentence. He was convicted of incitement and for violating the Electronic Transactions Law due to his media work.
Fifteen media organizations, including DVB, have had their publication licenses revoked by the regime since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Fifty-three journalists and media workers are currently in prison, according to media monitoring group Athan.
Dwe Myittar was arrested in March 2023 and held at Insein Prison. Although his official charges remain unclear, sources told DVB that he was detained for incitement after sharing a social media post critical of the regime.
The chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim praised the regime’s mass release of prisoners after meeting Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 17.
“I welcome recent steps to ease tensions, including the release, last night, of 4,800 detainees. Such gestures are a meaningful signal,” said Anwar..
In the aftermath of the earthquake on March 28, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the regime to immediately release all political prisoners.
“Thousands remain arbitrarily detained in horrendous conditions. The impact of the earthquake on detention facilities is unclear. They should be released without delay,” said Türk in a statement to the U.N. on April 4.
Since the 2021 coup, the regime has released a total of 106,810 prisoners in 18 separate amnesties. But only 8,873 were political prisoners, or 8.31 percent overall, according DVB data.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has documented that 29,030 have been arrested since the 2021 coup with 22,197 remaining behind bars.
