Myanmar Military Junta Pardons Over 2,000 Political Prisoners

Myanmar's junta pardoned more than 2,000 political prisoners to mark a Buddhist holiday on Wednesday, with families rushing to prisons for tearful reunions with loved ones jailed in a sweeping crackdown on dissent.The military has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since the February 2021 putsch that ended Myanmar's brief democratic experiment and plunged the country into turmoil.Pardons were granted to "2,153 prisoners serving sentences under Penal Code 505 (a) to mark Kasone Full Moon Day", a festival marking the birth of the Buddha, the junta said in a statement.The law carries a maximum three-year jail term.About 50 people gathered outside Yangon's sprawling, colonial-era Insein prison following the announcement, AFP reporters said.