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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 73835, member: 636"] Myanmar's junta released 185 political prisoners from Mandalay Central Prison as part of their ongoing voter-registration stunt before the upcoming election. The prison system dumped another 80 inmates from four other lockups across the region, bringing the total to 265 freed detainees. Officials handed out some cash for food and transport, then shipped everyone out after health checks. Prison Director U Cho Win Tun gave some speech about how they treated inmates like family members, and he claimed the whole amnesty thing was about making sure eligible voters could participate in the election. One former inmate said his family got blindsided by the release but showed up anyway to take him home. The amnesty targets people who got locked up under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, which the military uses to prosecute anyone who criticizes them online or protests against the coup. [/QUOTE]