This mass sentence reduction, announced on Thursday, has created a new debate over the country's political situation.
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Myanmar’s military leadership has decided to reduce the total sentences of all prisoners by 16 percent (one-sixth), indicating that the detention period of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi could also be shortened. The collective sentence reduction, announced on Thursday, has sparked a new debate over the country’s political situation.
Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing’s office said the remaining sentences of prisoners would be reduced by 16 percent on the occasion of the public holiday. However, the decision did not make any prisoners’ names public. However, according to a source close to the National League for Democracy (NLD), 80-year-old Suu Kyi will also benefit from the reduction.
It is not yet clear how much Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since a 2021 military coup, actually has left. A senior NLD member said on condition of anonymity for security reasons that it was not clear how much time had been reduced.
The military seized power five years ago by overthrowing Suu Kyi's elected government. She was then tried in closed courts on a range of charges. She was sentenced to more than three decades in prison for charges ranging from corruption to violating COVID-19 rules.
Later, in 2023, her sentence was reduced to 27 years after a general amnesty was granted in some cases. Recent decisions have indicated that the sentence is gradually being reduced. Min Aung Hlaing had previously issued a similar collective sentence reduction order, which further reduced Suu Kyi's sentence.
The decision also granted amnesty to Suu Kyi's close aide and former president Win Myint. This has fueled speculation that Suu Kyi's detention may gradually be eased.
But because Myanmar's justice system is opaque, it is unclear how much of her sentence she has served so far and how much time will be reduced. Political analysts see this as a strategic move by the military leadership. Democracy watchdogs have described the moves as more of an attempt to improve the government's image than real reform, saying the military regime is making symbolic decisions to reduce international pressure.
