A Baptist clergyman in Myanmar who was sentenced to six years in prison by the Asian nation's military government has been released after serving a year following international calls for his release.
The Rev. Hkalam Samson, the former president of the Kachin Baptist Convention, was released from prison earlier this month after serving about 16 months, according to an ethnic Kachin advocacy group.
Samson was sentenced to six years of prison last April under the Unlawful Association Act, the Penal Code and the Terrorism Act of Myanmar, a nation also known as Burma.
"He was released after living at a house in the prison compound," Lamai Gwanja, a leading member of the Kachin-based Peace-talk Creation Group, told The Associated Press. "He had not been rearrested but was called in for a short time for discussion of the peace issue, and after three months, he was released."
Samson was previously given amnesty in April; however, he was returned to custody mere hours after being released, according to the AP. The military government claimed it was to cooperate with the peace process.
The U.S. State Department, which had called for Samson's release, celebrated the news. Spokesman Matthew Miller called Samson "a prominent, well-respected religious leader."
"The United States welcomes the release of Reverend Dr. Hkalam Samson from prison in Burma after he served more than a year of a six-year sentence on military-led, manufactured charges," stated Miller.
"While we welcome this news, we reiterate our calls for the military regime to end its repression of, and violence against, religious actors, communities, and sites and houses of worship in Burma."
According to Miller, the junta government "has continued to imprison political actors, democratically elected officials, human rights defenders, and members of civil society."
"We continue to urge the military regime to immediately release the many individuals it has unjustly detained, cease its violence against civilians, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the people of Burma's aspirations for inclusive, representative democracy," Miller added.
The former president of the Kachin Baptist Convention and the Kachin National Consultative Assembly, Samson was arrested in December 2022, accused of engaging in treasonous activities.
After Samson was sentenced to six years of prison last year, Christian Solidarity Worldwide Senior Analyst for East Asia Benedict Rogers called it "an outrageous travesty of justice."
"Samson is a completely non-violent Christian pastor and a brave and tireless advocate of justice, human rights and peace," said Rogers in a statement released at the time.
In 2019, Samson was among many religious freedom advocates who met with former U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. He spoke about how Christians are persecuted in Myanmar and thanked him for sanctioning top Myanmar military generals.
"As Christians in Myanmar, we are being oppressed and tortured by the Myanmar military government," Samson said. "We don't have a chance for religious freedom as ethnic armed groups fight against the central military government. Please American government, focus on ethnic people and ethnic leader to get democracy and federalism. It is very important for your help and your support."
