Amnesty asks Myanmar to release 100 prisoners
Yangon, Oct. 8: Amnesty International on Thursday urged Myanmar to release nearly 100 “prisoners of conscience” ahead of landmark November polls, accusing the former juntarun nation of returning to “old ways” of repression.
After receiving widespread international praise for ending decades of outright military rule in 2011 and launching reforms, President Thein Sein’s government has been criticised for backsliding on human rights.
A violent crackdown at a March protest by students demanding changes to an education bill particularly raised fears of a return to the tactics of suppression used under military rule.
There are at least 91 “prisoners of conscience currently behind bars in Myanmar”, Amnesty International said in a report released on Thursday. “Authorities have intensified a chilling crackdown on freedom of expression over the past year,” said Ms Laura Haigh, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher in a statement.
The rights group urged the immediate release of these prisoners, including dozens of student protesters still detained for trial near the central town of Letpadan. Of the 81 students facing court proceedings, some 54 are being held in prison, according to Mr Hla Myo Myint, a lawyer for the group who said an application for bail for those still behind bars was pending.