Myanmar junta frees thousands of detained anti-coup protesters phnompenhpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phnompenhpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday, 01 Jul 2021 07:48 AM MYT
Families wait outside Insein prison after Myanmar s authorities announced to free around 700 prisoners in Yangon, Myanmar June 30, 2021. Reuters pic
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YANGON, July 1 Myanmar authorities released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters from prisons across the country on Wednesday, including local journalists jailed after reporting critically on the junta’s bloody crackdown.
Myanmar has been rocked by massive protests and a brutal military response since the February coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.
More than 880 civilians have been killed in a crackdown by the State Administration Council as the junta calls itself and almost 6,500 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
RFA
Myanmar’s junta released some 2,300 detainees mostly political prisoners charged with defamation as part of a nationwide amnesty on Wednesday, but the move was greeted with skepticism by critics who called it a stunt to gain international recognition following its February power grab.
The 2,296 detainees were freed from prisons in the capital Naypyidaw as well as all 14 of the country’s states and regions, and included journalists, protesters, and relief workers accused of violating Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code for defaming the military.
Aung Ye Ko, a reporter from 7 Days News, told RFA’s Myanmar Service he had been released 124 days after his Feb. 27 arrest while covering an anti-coup protest in the Hledan district of Myanmar’s largest city Yangon.
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Myanmar authorities have released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters from prisons across the country, including local journalists jailed after reporting critically on the junta s bloody crackdown.
Myanmar has been rocked by massive protests and a brutal military response since the February coup that ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.
More than 880 civilians have been killed in a crackdown by the State Administration Council - as the junta calls itself - and almost 6,500 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
Myanmar s deposed Leader Aung San Suu Kyi in December 2018.
Photothek
After authorities announced the release, a crowd of at least 200 people gathered outside the colonial-era Insein prison in Yangon hoping a loved one might be released.
July 1, 2021
YANGON: Myanmar authorities released more than 2,000 anti-coup protesters from prisons across the country on Wednesday, including local journalists jailed after reporting critically on the junta’s bloody crackdown.
Myanmar has been rocked by massive protests and a brutal military response since the February coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her government. More than 880 civilians have been killed in a crackdown by the State Administration Council as the junta calls itself and almost 6,500 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
After authorities announced the release, a crowd of at least 200 people gathered outside the colonial-era Insein prison in Yangon hoping a loved one might be released, an AFP reporter said. Pressing up against the barricades, many held umbrellas to shelter from light rain, footage on local media showed, with one woman holding a flower.