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Myanmar has released nearly 5,000 prisoners for its Buddhist New Year Amnesty, including 13 foreigners, the Junta announced the public broadcaster MRTV.
But eminent political detainees – such as former State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi – remain behind bars or under residence. Suu Kyi was detained beyond the first time since the first days of the 2021 coup, with his exact still unknown place.
Other key figures from the ousted government of Suu Kyi, many of whom are faced with accusations with political motivation, have also been excluded from this year’s amnesty.
The annual amnesty of the junta is largely considered as a calculated political tool rather than a gesture of good will. By releasing certain prisoners, the regime aims to project an image of leniency and normality to the international community. At the same time, he maintains close control by excluding eminent political prisoners and opposition figures, strengthening his grip on power while trying to divert criticism from his in progress violations on human rights.
“Many liberated people had to be released in a few months anyway.
The junta also announced that some prisoners would have their sorrows reduced to a sixth, but explicitly excluded those condemned as part of a range of laws commonly used to target political opponents and resistance fighters. These include terrorism and accusations of illegal association, as well as laws concerning explosives and firearms.
A political analyst, who also asked to stay nameless with security problems, noted that such exclusions disproportionately affect members of the pro -democracy movement, ethnic armed groups and the former national league official for democracy – effectively preserving the regime on his most vocal criticism.
Several former NLD politicians died shortly after being released from prison, their family members saying that they were denied health care for chronic conditions. Although the leaders of the Junta often grant prisoners on public holidays, many are arrested again a few days later.
In some prisons, no political detainees have been released at all, the political network of political prisoners of the defense group for the defense group said on Thursday.
The junta was widely criticized for arresting citizens en masse for demonstrations against his coup in 2021, denouncing online politicians and other accusations that activists claimed to be thwarted and carried out by trials of mortar. Likewise, the junta arrested hundreds of members of the former NLD civil administration ousted during the coup.
From 2021 to April 11, 2025, more than 22,100 people were charged by the junta and more than 10,700 were convicted, according to the Association for Political Drisoners.
Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by Tajun Kang.