- YANGON, Myanmar: A government-appointed human rights body has urged Myanmar’s new president to release political prisoners or transfer them to prisons close to their families.
The appeal comes as speculation rises about a new amnesty covering some of the country’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners.
Myanmar’s three state-owned newspapers published an open letter Sunday from National Human Rights Commission chairman Win Mra calling on President Thein Sein to grant amnesty “as a reflection of magnanimity,” or to transfer political prisoners in remote prisons to facilities with easy access for their family members.
A similar appeal was published in October on the same day the government announced an amnesty of 6,359 prisoners, including about 200 political detainees.