A total of 514 political prisoners have been released by the Burmese authorities, reports state-run MRTV. However, it has not been possible to independently confirm the release or what proportion were imprisoned for political “crimes” against the Burmese state. Human Rights Watch released a statement on Monday urging President Thein Sein to follow through on his promise to release all remaining political prisoners as part of a wide program of democratic reform. Observers say Thein Sein carried out the release before visiting the United States next week in order to negotiate a further rollback of trade sanctions.
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