Myanmar will free almost 25,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the traditional New Year — its largest mass pardon in recent years.

Key points: More than 80 foreigners are among the prisoners released

More than 80 foreigners are among the prisoners released Human Rights groups say Myanmar has 90,000 prisoners

Human Rights groups say Myanmar has 90,000 prisoners There is no confirmation if political prisoners will also walk free

The release for the Thingyan holiday was announced in a statement from Myanmar President Win Myint's office.

Mass amnesties on the holiday have not been unusual, though the number this year was the highest in recent memory.

Win Myint said 24,896 people jailed across the country, including 87 foreigners, would be freed unconditionally "to bring delights to the citizens of Myanmar and taking into consideration humanitarian concerns".

The President's statement did not say if the release was related to calls to free them because of the hazard of contracting COVID-19 in the close quarters of prison.

Myanmar has reported 85 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including four deaths, but health experts believe the actual totals are higher.

Human rights groups estimate Myanmar's overcrowded prisons hold 92,000 people, including those awaiting trial.

Despite bans on gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus, crowds gathered outside Insein prison in the commercial capital of Yangon on Friday (local time) hoping to greet family members, despite a ban on gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus.

Outside Insein Prison, authorities handed out face masks to the waiting crowds as buses full of those to be released passed through the gates.

Most of those waiting had no idea if their relatives had been included in the amnesty.

"I'm waiting for him. I hope he's on the list," 38-year-old Ei Ei Nwe, waiting in the heat for her son, said.

Government urged to release political prisoners

Last year, about 23,000 people were freed over several days in the annual amnesty, according to state media.

More than 8,000 were released the previous year.

It was not immediately clear whether the release would include anyone convicted in connection with acts of dissent against the government.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch earlier this month said Myanmar should reduce its prison population immediately to curb the spread of COVID-19.

London-based Amnesty International last week called on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, whom it charges are victims of injustice.

The prison department said there are no political prisoners in Myanmar but rights groups said dozens of people are in prison because of their political activity.

An official at Insein prison said he did not know if any activists or dissidents were being freed.

More than 331 people were prosecuted in freedom of expression-related cases in 2019, according to human rights non-profit group Athan.

Those behind bars include members of a satirical poetry troupe and students imprisoned last month for protesting against a government-imposed internet shutdown.

While the military retains extensive powers, activists said the civilian government has failed to use its overwhelming parliamentary majority to scrap repressive laws stifling dissent, tightening restrictions on civil society.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners believes there are more than 92,000 people in Myanmar's over-stretched prison system, with some jails operating at double or triple capacity.

So the number being released would represent more than a quarter of the prison population. The government has not released information recently about the prison population.

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Reuters/AP