Myanmar to release more than 14,000 convicts

Yangon: More than 14,600 prisoners in Myanmar are being released under a clemency program that will include very few political prisoners.

Prison Department Director General Zaw Win says most of the convicts, including 2,166 women, will be freed Tuesday from jails around the country.

The limited nature of the program — commuting death sentences to life imprisonment and cutting one year from prison terms — has drawn criticism from many who had expected more generous terms similar to broader amnesties that had been applied in the past.

Most of the country`s political prisoners, both from the pro-democracy movement and undesirable factions in the government, are serving long prison terms that will keep them locked up.

PTI