BANGKOK (AFP) – Leading rights groups have urged Myanmar to free all political prisoners ahead of elections in November, as they marked three years since a deadly crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.
Amnesty International Thursday said more than 2,200 dissidents including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi were still being detained by the military regime -- more than double the number held before the 2007 demonstrations.
“It beggars belief that the government can attempt to burnish its democratic credentials by holding elections, while it also holds more than 2,200 political prisoners behind bars and out of sight of the campaigns and polls,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher.
Myanmar’s first elections in 20 years are due to take place on November 7.
Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/278774/free-prisoners-myanmar-urgerd
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