Presidential pardon to release young inmates on Jan 25 anniversary

CAIRO – 10 October 2017 : As many as 1,000 prison inmates will soon be released upon presidential amnesty on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the January 25 revolution, according to sources in the Interior Ministry’s Prison Service Sector.

Article 155 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates that the president may issue a pardon or mitigate a sentence after consulting with the cabinet.

According to said sources, the ministry has already embarked on enlisting the prisoners who are highly recommended to be set free on account of good conduct.

Ahmed Ibrahim, member of the Parliament’s Human Rights committee told Egypt Today on Tuesday that the pardon is particularly aimed at the young-aged “prisoners of conscious” and those who are serving running-on tenures over protests. Those eligible for the pardon must be proven tobe in no way complicit in committing violence-related charges, as well.

Ibrahim added that the move comes as a follow up on the recommendations from the first youth conferences regularly held under the patronage of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

The committee had already addressed a large number of prison-release requests by families of young inmates; most of them currently university or school students who require more solid chances of being embraced.Said inmates also need to be prepped to enable them to reintegrate into society, Ibrahim stated.

In September, the presidential committee announced that it examinedwhichprisoners meet the terms, regulations and provisions stated in the pardon decision to determine those eligible to be pardoned.The prisoners will be released after the examination results have been studied and approved, according to Tarek ElKhouli.

The committee includes prominent politicians, a journalist, and a member of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights, but not any who belong to terrorist organizations or have committed violent acts, said Kholi.