DHAKA: Myanmar released 56 political prisoners in a presidential amnesty, the government`s official MRTV reported late Tuesday.

The inmates were released from a dozen prisons, according to Tun Kyi, a member of government`s committee on political prisoners. Most were charged under an unlawful association law, he said.

In July, President Thein Sein said that there will be no prisoners of conscience in Myanmar by the end of the year.

One month later, he stressed that while there will be no such prisoners, individuals found guilty of committing violent crimes for political reasons should still serve their sentences.

Myanmar is gradually emerging from decades of authoritarian military rule that resulted in internal oppression and international isolation.

Source: CNN
BDST: 1131 HRS, OCT 09, 2013
RS/BSK