Myanmar’s military authorities announced on Sunday that they will release more than 6,000 prisoners as part of an annual amnesty marking the country’s Independence Day.
In a statement, the National Defence and Security Council said the acting president of Myanmar had granted pardons to 6,134 male and female inmates currently serving sentences in prisons, detention centres and labour camps across the country.
In a separate announcement, the junta confirmed that 52 foreign prisoners would also be freed and subsequently deported.
The amnesty comes against the backdrop of a prolonged political and security crisis. Since the military takeover in February 2021, authorities have detained thousands of protesters, activists and political opponents, ending a brief period of democratic governance and pushing the country into widespread armed conflict.
According to the Security Council, the annual prisoner release has been granted on “humanitarian and compassionate grounds” as Myanmar marks 78 years of independence from British colonial rule.
Myanmar's military government will release 6,186 prisoners under an amnesty marking Independence Day, state media said on Saturday (January 3, 2026), a week after a multi-stage general election began in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.https://t.co/7jSnIIM9S6
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) January 4, 2026Scenes of cautious hope unfolded outside Yangon’s Insein Prison on Sunday morning, where hundreds of families gathered, holding documents and lists of names as they waited for news of their relatives’ release, according to journalists on the ground.
The announcement follows the launch of a phased, month-long election process that began last week. Military leaders have claimed the vote will pave the way for democracy. Still, human rights groups and Western diplomats have dismissed the exercise as a façade designed to legitimise continued military control.
Early official results published in state media show the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party holding a dominant position. The party has reportedly secured around 90 percent of the lower house seats declared so far in the first phase of voting.
While the prisoner amnesty offers relief to thousands of families, critics argue that it does little to address the broader issues of political repression, civil conflict and the lack of a credible democratic transition in Myanmar.
