Myanmar’s military will release 6,000 prisoners, including a former British ambassador, a Japanese filmmaker and an Australian adviser to the country’s ousted leader.
Former diplomats Vicky Bowman and Toro Kubota were jailed earlier this year, while Sean Turnall was detained shortly after the 2021 coup.
The military junta said the pardon was made on the occasion of Myanmar’s National Day.
The military has arrested more than 16,000 people since seizing power.
It overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 – sparking massive nationwide protests and a widespread resistance movement.
Ms Bowman served as the UK’s ambassador to Myanmar between 2002 and 2006, and was running the Yangon-based Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) at the time of her arrest.
A fluent Burmese speaker, she is a well-known member of Myanmar’s small international community. Her husband Htein Lin is a former political prisoner.
The couple were detained when they returned to the city from their home in Shan State. Army officials accused the duo of failing to register him as living at another address.
But the case was about broader political concerns than immigration crimes, for which foreigners are rarely prosecuted in Myanmar.
