NAYPYIDAW. The military junta in Myanmar has released numerous political prisoners who had been arrested since early February during protests against the military coup. The military regime announced yesterday evening that 2,296 people were released across the country. Among those released were several journalists who were behind bars for reporting on the protests.
A reporter reported that at least 200 people were waiting in front of the Insein prison in the city of Rangoon that morning. One man hoped that his daughter would be among the freedmen. “I’m very proud of her,” he said. “I will encourage them to fight until they win.”
Foreigners still in custody
According to her employer, the journalist Kay Zon Nway from the Internet portal “Myanmar Now” was among those released. However, the US journalist Danny Fenster was not released. An employee of the detention center, who refused to give his name, said no foreigners had been released.
The military regained power in Myanmar on February 1st. The coup ended a decade of democratic change in the Southeast Asian country. Since then, the junta has faced massive protests and has responded with brutal violence against demonstrators.
In February the junta released around 23,000 prison inmates to make room for political prisoners.
