Junta Thingyan Amnesty Releases RFA Contributor Shin Daewe After 915 Days — 1,350+ Prisoners Freed

As part of a traditional Myanmar New Year prisoner amnesty announced by President Min Aung Hlaing, award-winning documentary filmmaker and Radio Free Asia contributor Shin Daewe was released on April 17, 2026 after 915 days in detention. Shin Daewe had been arrested in October 2023 and sentenced to 15 years in prison on the pretext of purchasing a video drone — widely condemned by press freedom organizations as a politically motivated prosecution. His release was welcomed by colleagues at Insein Prison in Yangon, where many of Myanmar's most prominent political prisoners are held. The broader Thingyan amnesty released over 1,350 prisoners across Myanmar. However, human rights organizations including AAPP noted that the amnesty left tens of thousands of other political prisoners detained; AAPP documents 22,668 political prisoners as of late 2025. Amnesty releases during Thingyan are an annual junta practice often timed to generate positive press coverage while maintaining the vast majority of political detentions. Critics observed that the same government releasing Shin Daewe simultaneously continued airstrikes that killed civilians on April 17 in Pauk Township.