CAIRO – 5 May 2019: Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi issued a presidential decree on Sunday to release 89 imprisoned debtors on the occasion of the holy month Ramadan which starts on Monday.
The move followed a decree by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi as part of the "Prisons Without Debtors" initiative, which was launched by El-Sisi in mid-2018.
The Presidential decision comes as part of the “Prisons without Debtors” initiative that was launched in 2018.
In 2018, a joint committee formed of different Parliamentarian committees including Defense and National Security, and Constitutional and Legislation Affairs committees discussed a draft law introduced by dozens of Parliament members that suggests involving debtors in community service as an alternative penalty to imprisonment.
According to the draft law, the prison punishment a debtor faces would be replaced with community service, away from the prison, based on the Judge’s perspective and opinion whether the defendant is legally defined as a debtor.
The workplaces, job description, working hours, grants and punishments would be determined by the prime minister or the concerned minister acting on his behalf, with respect to the debtor’s age.
The defendant has the right to appeal against the judge’s decision based on constitutional laws.
A total of 405 prisoners were released on June 21, 2018, per a presidential pardon, while 478 others were granted a conditional release.
On June 15, 2018, a total of 2,110 prisoners were released per the same presidential pardon that was issued on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr (Religious feast marking the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan).
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