The presidency is set to announce the second pardon list of 203 prisoners within hours, Tarek El-Khouly, member of the presidential committee for pardoning young detainees, confirmed to Daily News Egypt on Monday.
The committee has been working on the second list for more than two months, which has raised many questions among families and public figures concerning its delay, especially since the first list was released after only 15 days of working on it.
Sources told Daily News Egypt that the pardon for the prisoners will be issued by the presidency within 24 hours.
El-Khouly, who is also a parliamentary member, said all of the 203 prisoners were serving final sentences in cases regarding freedom of expression and publishing crimes.
The majority are students and individuals suffering from poor health conditions, he added.
Asked for names, the MP said that he could not provide any names yet, as the committee is still awaiting the final list to be returned by the presidency. The second list was sent to the presidency in mid-January.
The first list was released in early November and pardoned 82 prisoners from a list that originally included 83 prisoners.
The Detained Youth Committee was established based on recommendations made during the National Youth Conference that took place in October. During the conference, veteran politician Osama Al-Ghazali Harb called on the president to release young detainees.
