JAKARTA: Indonesia today freed two high-profile political prisoners, the first releases under a planned large-scale amnesty for political prisoners.
Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a former member of the opposition United Development Party, was jailed for 34 months last year for defaming former president Suharto during a speech in Germany. Muchtar Pakpahan, head of the Indonesian Welfare Union, is nearing the end of a four-year term for inciting riots, and faces separate subversion charges.
There are thousands of political prisoners in jails around the Indonesian archipelago.
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