Myanmar Frees Some Political Prisoners

YANGON, Myanmar—Myanmar freed five political prisoners on Tuesday, and more are expected to be released next week as part of a pledge by the president to free all such prisoners.

The five were freed after President Thein Sein granted a pardon Monday to those convicted of or charged with a variety of political offenses, including unlawful association, high treason, contempt of government and violations of the Peaceful Assembly Law.

The amnesty follows a promise by Mr. Thein Sein in July that all political prisoners would be freed by the end of 2013. In addition, the decree halted all ongoing trials and investigations connected with those charges.

Those freed had their names on a list from the Political Prisoners Scrutinizing Committee, said Bo Kyi, a member of the government-sponsored committee, which includes both officials and members of civil society and which determines who is a political prisoner. He added that "more people are expected to be freed in the next batch in the first week of January."

"We welcome the presidential pardon order. However, several steps need to be taken to maintain a level of zero political prisoners. There must be rule of law and more political freedom to maintain that level," Mr. Bo Kyi said.

The five were freed from district prisons and Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

"We were freed today because the laws that were used to put us behind bars are weak. Anyway, I respect the president for keeping his promise to free political prisoners before the end of the year," said Yan Naing Tun, one of several freed from Insein prison.

Mr. Yan Naing Tun and Aung Min Naing, who led a march to the headquarters of the ethnic Kachin Independence Organization in northern Myanmar early in 2013, were serving seven-month sentences for breaking the Peaceful Assembly Law because they hadn't gotten permission for their march.

Ye Aung, a former political prisoner and member of the prisoner scrutinizing committee, said another 200 activists facing trial for political charges will immediately have those charges dropped.

The pardon may not cover all prisoners listed by the committee as political detainees, as some were also convicted of other crimes, such as murder, he said.

Since Mr. Thein Sein became president, he has freed about 1,300 political prisoners, Mr. Ye Aung said.

Mr. Thein Sein, a former general who was elected president in 2011 after five decades of repressive military rule, instituted political and financial changes to lift the country's sagging economy. Myanmar had faced sanctions from Western nations because of its poor human-rights record and undemocratic rule. Most of the sanctions have now been lifted.

The release of political detainees has been a benchmark used by Western nations to judge Mr. Thein Sein's administration; previous releases have triggered decisions by some nations to ease sanctions.

Mr. Ye Aung said that during Mr. Thein Sein's administration many activists had been charged under a section of the Peaceful Assembly Law that carries a maximum one-year prison term for those who stage protests without official permission.

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