Mizzima
A total of 204 prisoners were granted amnesty by the junta as part of the New Year amnesty, according to sources in Mon state. Among them, only four were identified as political prisoners.
Specifically, in Kyaikmaraw Prison, three women detained under Section 52 (a) of the counter-terrorism law, along with a CDM traffic police officer held under Section 505 (a) in Zaymathwe Prison, Thaton Town, Mon State, were released, as confirmed by sources familiar with the matter.
Of the approximately 500 political detainees in Kyaikmaraw Prison, the women released were Honey Kyaw Thet, Ei Ei Moe, and Hnin Hnin Yi, according to prison sources.
Kyaikmaraw Prison reportedly holds around 500 political prisoners, while Zaymathwe Prison accommodates over 200, many of whom are serving lengthy sentences.
The junta’s New Year amnesty, announced on 17 April, saw a total of 3,303 prisoners released from various detention facilities nationwide. However, according to the Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM), only a mere 4 per cent of those granted amnesty were political detainees.
“In such a volatile political climate, it’s hard to imagine anyone releasing political prisoners who might pose a threat,” said a source familiar with the prison.
In the junta’s amnesty order, the popular political prisoners such as Thant Zin Tun, former MP of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Zabu Thiri Township, Nay Pyi Taw, Nay Win, a former Minister of Social Affairs in Kachin State during the NLD government, Zaw Win, Minister of Immigration, and Dr. Hkalam Samson, former chairman of the Kachin Baptist Convention, were released. However, the junta re-arrested Dr. Hkalam Samson, Kachin Baptist Convention-related sources stated.
