Myanmar authorities on Friday released 69 student activists who had been jailed for more than a year without trial. Tharrawaddy Township Judge Chit Myat [NYU backgrounder] announced [NYT report] that the 69 students were free without charges after being imprisoned for protesting for academic freedom. All those imprisoned from the March 2015 protest that was violently crushed [Al Jazeera report] by policewere released except the leaders. The release of the student activists came a day after the nation’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced [Daily Nigeria News report] that freeing political prisoners and student activists was a major priority for the new government that has emerged from military rule. There are currently 121 political prisoners [prisoners list, PDF] incarcerated and 414 political activists awaiting trial [prisoners list, PDF] in Myanmar.

The democratic reform processes has continued in Myanmar since ending a decades-old military rule. Last month Amnesty International (AI) said [JURIST report] that Myanmar’s new government has been presented with a historic opportunity to change course on human rights. Also last month Myanmar released [JURIST report] 46 underage child recruits from the military as part of a UN joint action plan. In January the country began [JURIST report] the process of releasing the first set of 102 mostly political prisoners days before a democratic power transfer took place. In October 2015 then-President Thein Sein signed [JURIST report] a nationwide ceasefire agreement with eight armed rebel groups in an effort to establish peace in the country.