Myanmar Frees More Dissidents

Ahead of president's visit to Washington

Some 20 political prisoners were released in Myanmar on Friday, just days before a a historic summit between the country's leader and President Obama in Washington, officials and prisoner rights groups said.

President Thein Sein will be the first leader of Myanmar to visit Washington since 1966. In November, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar.

Zaw Htay, a senior official in Thein Sein's office, said on social media that the prisoner release was not timed to next week's visit but instead showed that the president was determined to offer an "inclusive political process."