Myanmar's military-led government has reduced the prison sentences of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi in clemency connected to a religious holiday in the Buddhist-majority country, state media said Tuesday.
Former President Win Myint also had his sentence reduced as part of the clemency granted to more than 7,000 prisoners.
But Suu Kyi, 78, still must serve a total of 27 years out of the 33 she was originally imprisoned for.
The head of Myanmar's military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, granted the clemency order to reduce the sentences in five cases against Suu Kyi in which she was convicted for violating coronavirus restrictions, illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and sedition, according to a report on state MRTV.
She was initially sentenced for 19 offenses that her supporters and rights group say were attempts to discredit her and legitimize the 2021 army takeover while preventing her return to politics.
The separate statement said that former president Win Myint was also pardoned for two offenses he was convicted for, which were violating coronavirus restrictions and sedition, cutting four years from his 12-year combined jail term. Win Myint was initially sentenced for a total of eight offenses.
The decision comes a day after the junta officially postponed an election promised by August.
Junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting on Monday with the army-backed National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), extended a state of emergency by six more months.
The military had pledged to hold elections by August 2023 after it overthrew the elected government headed by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, but it cited ongoing violence as a reason to postpone the vote.
"While holding an election, in order to have an election that is free and fair and also to be able to vote without any fear, necessary security arrangements are still needed and so the period for the state of emergency is required to extend," read the junta statement on state TV.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the coup, with a resistance movement fighting the military on multiple fronts after a bloody crackdown on opponents that drew global condemnation and saw Western sanctions reimposed.
The military seized power after complaining of fraud in a November 2020 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.
The overthrow of Suu Kyi's elected government derailed a decade of reform, international engagement and economic growth while leaving a trail of upended lives in its wake.
In response to the junta's announcement, the U.S. State Department said extending the state of emergency would plunge the country "deeper into violence and instability."
"The regime's widespread brutality and disregard for the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma continue to prolong the crisis," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General said: "We want to return to democratic rule in Myanmar as soon as possible."
