Pardon frees more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s ruling military council says it is releasing more than 2,100 political prisoners as a humanitarian gesture. Thousands more remain imprisoned on charges generally involving nonviolent protests or criticism of military rule, which began when the army seized power in 2021. State-run MRTV television reported that the country’s leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, had pardoned 2,153 prisoners on the most important Buddhist holy day of the year. All the prisoners granted pardons on Wednesday were reported to have been convicted under a section of Myanmar’s penal code that makes it a crime to spread comments that create public unrest or fear, or spread false news, and carries a penalty of up to three years in prison.