Myanmar Frees Nearly 5,000 Prisoners to Mark Traditional New Year
Min Aung Hlaing
Photographer: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images
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BANGKOK (AP) — The head of Myanmar’s military government granted amnesty to nearly 4,900 prisoners to mark the country's traditional new year, state-run media reported Thursday, and an independent watchdog said they included at least 22 political detainees.
At least 19 buses with prisoners aboard left Yangon's Insein prison and were welcomed outside the gate by excited family members and friends who had been waiting since early morning.