Yangon: 110 recently freed prisoners re-arrested

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors detentions and killings in the country, gave the news. Some have been returned to prison on new charges. Several journalists and activists remain imprisoned. 

 


Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Myanmar's junta has re-arrested more than 100 anti-coup protesters who had been released in recent days, reports the humanitarian group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Aapp), which records the detentions and killings in the country. 

The former Burma is plunged into chaos since February 1 when the army seized power in a coup d'état and then violently repressed the anti-golpe protests. According to Aapp, so far more than 1,100 people have been killed by the military junta and more than 8,000 have been arrested.

On October 18, the military announced that it would release some 5,600 political prisoners on the occasion of the Thadingyut Buddhist festival. International agencies were unable to confirm the exact number of people released, but many were required to sign a document stating that they would refuse to be involved in political activities once released.

According to Aapp, some people previously released were arrested again as soon as they arrived home. "Others who were told they were on the released list were taken to the entrance of the prison, only to be brought back in on further charges." 

By June, the military junta had released more than 2,000 protesters, but many activists and journalists, including U.S.-based Danny Fenster, who was arrested on May 24, are still detained. The country's former leader Aung San Suu Kyi also remains in prison and continues to face a number of junta charges in court, which could potentially keep her in prison for decades.

The recent amnesty had been granted due to international pressure. Last week, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), abandoning its line of non-interference in a member country's internal affairs, had decided to exclude junta leader Min Aung Hlaing from a regional summit to be held later this month.