The Ministry of Interior released the first batch of prisoners released by a presidential pardon on Monday, following a decision issued by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on the celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the revolution of July 23.
Prisoners are mainly debtors, as well as others who were facing sentences. No details have been provided regarding the number of pardoned prisoners.
The decision No 334 of 2018 is published in the official gazette.
This comes within the framework of the ministry’s keenness to uphold the values of human rights, it said, and the application of the penal code, according to a modern approach, as well as to provide various aspects of care for inmates, especially in communicating with their families, according to the statement.
The ministry regularly grants pardons to prisoners around major religious and national occasions.
In June, the ministry released 3,477 prisoners for the occasion of Eid El-Fitar as decided by Al-Sisi. The number of pardoned prisoners included 690 who were imprisoned for failing to their pay debts.
Similarly in April, the ministry released 658 prisoners on the occasion of Sinai Liberation Day.
