BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military rulers have announced a mass amnesty for over 3,000 political prisoners and dropped charges against an additional 5,500 people ahead of the Dec. 28 general election, state media reported Wednesday.

The move comes as part of the junta’s stated goal to allow all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote freely and fairly, though critics argue the election is neither free nor fair under ongoing military control.

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Details of the Amnesty

According to the state-run broadcaster MRTV, the amnesty was approved by Myanmar’s State Security and Peace Commission, which oversees the transition to elections. Key details include:

• 3,085 prisoners convicted under Section 505(A) of Myanmar’s penal code were granted amnesty. Section 505(A), also known as the incitement law, criminalizes spreading information deemed to cause public unrest or fear, or “false news.”
• 724 prisoners received conditional release, meaning that if they commit another offense, they must serve both the remainder of their original sentence and any new sentence.
• 5,580 people facing prosecution or in hiding under Section 505(A) also had their cases closed.

The release began Thursday at Yangon’s Insein Prison, a facility long known for holding political detainees. Outside the prison, families gathered to welcome relatives freed under the amnesty.

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Aung San Suu Kyi Remains in Detention

It is unclear whether former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is included in the amnesty. She has been held virtually incommunicado since the military coup in February 2021. Suu Kyi, 80, is currently serving a 27-year sentence following what supporters have described as politically motivated prosecutions.

As of Wednesday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent monitoring group, reported that 22,708 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, remain in custody.

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Election Context and Criticism

Critics have raised doubts about the legitimacy of Myanmar’s upcoming election, citing:

• The absence of free media
• Arrests of leaders from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD)
• Ongoing armed and nonviolent resistance against military rule

Many human rights observers say the mass amnesty is largely symbolic, aimed at creating a veneer of fairness before the polls rather than signaling meaningful political reform.