Naypyidaw [Myanmar], May 1: Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing has cut all prisoners' sentences by one-sixth, a blanket measure that grants deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi's sentence a further reduction, according to a member of her legal team.
Thursday's measure comes to mark a public holiday, according to a statement published by the presidential office. Amnesties typically happen as Myanmar marks Independence Day in January and its New Year in April.
Min Aung Hlaing, who was military chief before being sworn in as civilian president after a tightly restricted election, had already granted a similar sentence reduction in an amnesty for 4,335 prisoners earlier this month.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been imprisoned since 2021, when a military coup toppled her democratically elected government. She is serving a 33-year sentence, later reduced to 27, on charges her allies describe as politically motivated. Her legal team member said that the 80-year-old will now have to serve about 18 years.
Source: Qatar Tribune
