Min Tun Soe, a spokesman for the prisons department, told Reuters that Friday’s amnesty would also not include many activists. Two activists in the northern state of Kachin were released on Friday, one of them, Zau Jat, told supporters and journalists outside the prison in the city of Myitkyina. “There are many prisoners in this prison who experienced an unfair judiciary,” Zau Jat said in comments broadcast live over Facebook. “Even if there was no amnesty, we would be released next month, so this is just (the authorities) trying to improve their image,” said Zau Jat. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a human rights group monitoring the prisons, said earlier this month there were 45 people serving prison sentences for “political activity”, most of them for alleged links to armed groups.

Source: bd News24 April 26, 2019 07:30 UTC