Prominent monk freed in Myanmar prisoner amnesty

Myanmar's government freed a prominent Buddhist monk leader who led 2007 street protests on Wednesday in an amnesty for thousands of prisoners that is expected to include large numbers of political detainees.

The United States, Europe and Australia have said freeing an estimated 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar is crucial for considering lifting sanctions that have crippled the pariah state and, over years, driven it closer to China.


The monk, Shin Gambira, was a leader of the All-Burmese Monks Alliance which played a prominent role in street marches in 2007 that were violently suppressed by the then-military junta. He was 27-years old when he was sentenced in 2007 to 68 years in prison.

Local activist sources said he was released from Kalay Prison, one of many prisoners in the reclusive country where political activists and politicians have been held.

"So far, as we have checked, there are eight political prisoners including Shin Gambira among 400 prisoners released from Kalay today. Our friends have gone to pick them up," activist lawyer Aye Myint told Reuters by telephone.