緬甸釋放包括政治犯在內的102名囚犯大綱

Myanmar's military-backed government has released 102 prisoners, including many jailed on political charges, in a move that comes just before it is set to hand over power to a pro-democracy opposition party.

The prisoners were freed Friday from Insein prison near Yangon, according to a presidential spokesman. At least 20 of the freed detainees were prisoners of conscience while others were common criminals, officials said.

Among those freed was 32-year-old New Zealand citizen Philip Blackwood, who was sentenced last year to two and a half years in prison for using an image of Buddha in a flyer that a judge said insulted Buddhism.

Under the leadership of reformist President Thein Sein, Myanmar's government has released more than 1,300 political prisoners in recent years, even while continuing to throw activists and dissidents behind bars.

At least 537 people remain jailed on political charges, according to the Assistant Association for Political Prisoners.軍方支持的緬甸政府釋放了102名囚犯，其中包括多名政治犯。緬甸政府是在即將把權力移交給民主派反對黨之際採取這一舉措的。

緬甸總統發言人說，這批囚犯星期五在仰光附近的永盛監獄獲釋。緬甸官員說，在這批囚犯中，至少20人是良心犯，其餘是普通犯人。

獲釋者中包括32歲的新西蘭公民菲利普·布萊克伍德，他去年因爲在宣傳材料上使用佛的圖像被認定褻瀆佛教，判處兩年半監禁。

近年來，在改革派總統吳登盛任期內，緬甸政府先後釋放了1300多名政治犯，同時又將另外一些活動人士和異議人士送入監獄。

政治犯援助協會說，緬甸目前還監禁着至少537名政治犯。