President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi pardons 66 prisoners

CAIRO – 4 August 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi pardoned about 66 prisoners on Friday. Some of the prisoners will be pardoned after spending half of their sentences, and the rest received a complete pardon of their punishment.

There are many cases in Egypt’s law of which prisoners can receive a pardon to be released from jail. The exceptional pardon however, is not applicable on criminals who are convicted of murder, drug dealing and destabilizing the country’s stability.

In most pardons cases, the prisoner must have served half his sentence.

In Egypt, pardoning prisoners is commonly done during national occasions and holidays such as Eid (religious feast). For instance, last April, the Ministry of Interior released 1,051 prisoners and conditionally released 67 others by a presidential pardon, on the occasion of Sinai Liberation Day.

One of the prisoners’ mother thanked President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi for giving her the chance to unite with her son, who would now be able to care for his daughter. The pardon came in light of the ministry’s plan to elevate human rights values and to apply punitive measures in a modern sense.

Earlier in July, a total of 710 prisoners were released per a presidential pardon. The Prisons Authority announced that it is continuing to select the prisoners who qualify for conditional release, those who served half of their sentences and were not involved in criminal cases. A total of 506 other prisoners were granted a conditional release.

On June 21, some 405 prisoners were released per a presidential pardon, while 478 others were granted a conditional release on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr (religious feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan). An earlier batch was released on the same occasion including 2,110 prisoners on June 15.

In October 2016, President Sisi announced the formation of a presidential pardon committee, headed by political thinker, Osama al-Ghazaly Harb, for pardoning detainees with charges pending further investigation.

In November 2016, Sisi declared the first presidential pardon list, pardoning 82 detainees, including TV presenter and religious thinker Islam al-Behery, who was charged with “contempt of Islam”.