( CNN ) -- Myanmar released 56 political prisoners in a presidential amnesty , the government 's official MRTV reported late Tuesday . The inmates were released from a dozen prisons , according to Tun Kyi , a member of government 's committee on political prisoners . Most were charged under an unlawful association law , he said . In July , President Thein Sein said that there will be no prisoners of conscience in Myanmar by the end of the year . One month later , he stressed that while there will be no such prisoners , individuals found guilty of committing violent crimes for political reasons should still serve their sentences . Myanmar is gradually emerging from decades of authoritarian military rule that resulted in internal oppression and international isolation . Myanmar works to turn the lights on , and keep them on . Myanmar movie star buries the dead . Journalist Phyo Wai Lin contributed to this report .
The inmates were released from a dozen prisons . In the early 1990s, when I was in college, my father and his brother had been convicted of murdering two police officers during an armed robbery at their home near San Francisco. No prisoners of conscience by years end . Myanmar is gradually emerging from decades of authoritarian military rule .