A military junta has ruled Myanmar with an iron fist since a coup in February 2021. Countless opponents and protesters are then arrested. Surprisingly, almost 6,000 prisoners are now to be released – including prominent foreigners such as a British diplomat.
According to reports, almost 6,000 prisoners are to be released as part of a mass amnesty in the crisis-ridden country of Myanmar. Among them are several prominent foreigners. They had been sentenced to long prison terms by courts controlled by the military junta. Australian economics professor Sean Turnell, former British ambassador Vicky Bowman, her husband Htein Lin and Japanese journalist Toru Kubota would be released from prison on Thursday. The occasion is the celebration of Myanmar’s national holiday, a junta representative told the AFP news agency.
A total of 5,774 detainees would be released, including about 600 women, the junta official said. At first he had given the number as around 700. The junta representative did not say how many of those who were pardoned had been arrested in the course of the wave of arrests after the military coup last year.
Turnell is the former adviser to the ousted Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi. He was arrested shortly after the February 2021 military coup and was on trial for allegedly violating an official secrets law. At the end of September he was sentenced to three years in prison – to the horror of human rights activists around the world. The Australian government has repeatedly called for Turnell’s release. Professor colleagues have also been committed to him for many months.
Vicky Bowman, Britain’s ambassador to Myanmar from 2002 to 2006, was sentenced to a year in prison on alleged immigration violations in early September. Her Myanmar husband, the artist Htein Lin, was accused of aiding and also sentenced to one year in prison.
In October, Japanese journalist Toru Kubota was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for sedition and violations of communications and immigration laws. The documentary filmmaker was arrested after filming a protest in the largest city of Yangon.
Since the coup and the removal of de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi from power, the junta has ruled with an iron fist. The military is cracking down on any resistance, violently suppressing protests. Foreigners are also targeted by the generals. Suu Kyi is being held in solitary confinement in a prison and has to face a series of new allegations in court. Human rights activists speak of show trials. According to local groups, more than 2,000 people have been killed and at least 14,000 arrested in protests and clashes with the military.
