Myanmar grants amnesty to over 7,000 convicted of ‘terrorist group’ support

It was not immediately clear which groups the prisoners had been convicted of association with. Read more at straitstimes.com.

YANGON - Myanmar’s military junta granted amnesty on March 2 to more than 7,000 prisoners convicted of financing or sheltering a “terrorist group”, a designation it has used to outlaw pro-democracy factions opposing its rule.

Thousands of dissenting civilians have been swept into jails since Myanmar’s military snatched power in a 2021 coup, ending a decade-long experiment with democracy and detaining elected figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi.

Pro-democracy activists backing Suu Kyi and armed groups challenging the military in a civil war have been labelled “terrorist” outfits, and far-reaching laws punish association with life prison terms and possible death sentences.

A government notice said junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ordered releases of more than 7,300 prisoners convicted under legislation forbidding “financing of terrorism” and harbouring or arranging transport for “any terrorist group”.

It was not immediately clear which groups the prisoners had been convicted of association with.

In recent months, the junta has announced pardons for some political crimes in what analysts describe as a bid to soften its image amidst a handover to a nominally civilian government after elections concluded in January.