On the first day of Burmese New Year (17 April), more than 1,577 prisoners were pardoned by the military council, including 40 individuals from Rakhine State.

 However, none of the detainees linked to the Arakan Army (AA) featured in the list.

Out of  40 released among the prisoners, eight prisoners were in Sittwe jail, 20  (including seven women) in Buthidaung prison, six in Kyaukphyu prison and another six in Thandwe prison.

The AA-affiliated detainees in various Rakhine prisons will be around 70 and they are still under trials.

According to Wai Hin Aung, who is helping the political prisoners,  17 prisoners from Sittwe jail, including five Kyaukseik villagers from Ponna Kyun township, are yet to be released.

Others, who were arrested with the suspected links to AA, include seven prisoners in Thandwe jail, five in Buthidaung prison,  10 in Mrauk-U prison, 18 in Kyaukphyu prison, one in Paletwa (Chin State), six in Mandalay and another six in Rangoon's Insein prison and they are still waiting for their release.

The military council's amnesty order, issued on 17 April, stated that ‘in commemoration of the Burmese New Year, with the emphasis on peace of mind and humanitarian concern for the people, the State administrative council chairman pardoned 1577 prisoners’.

Even 42 foreign prisoners were also released but the authority has not named them and their home countries.