7,000 prisoners gets presidential pardon in Myanmar

Myanmar has announced the release of almost 7,000 prisoners on presidential pardons, the latest in a series of amnesties by Thein Sein's reformist government.

An information ministry statement on Thursday said 6,966 prisoners, including 210 foreigners, would be freed from various prisons across the country "on humanitarian grounds and in view of national reconciliation".

Those pardoned include eight former senior military intelligence officers who since 2004 have been serving jail terms of 80 years or more, members of their families told the AP news agency.

Among the foreigners to be freed were 155 Chinese citizens jailed last week for illegal logging, official media sources said.

Others freed include former Brigadier General Than Tun, who served as a liaison officer between the former military government and Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader who was then under house arrest.

It was not clear if pro-democracy activists were among those being freed. The vast majority of those released in mass pardons are common criminals.

No official lists of pardoned prisoners are issued, so the names of those freed usually come from the prisoners themselves, or their families.