On Saturday, the Egyptian Interior Ministry's affiliated Prisons Sector has released 4,011 prisoners upon an earlier presidential pardon on the occasion of the Sinai Liberation Day.
The High Commission for Pardon began examining the cases entitled to conditional release, and it selected 3,778 inmates to be released, while 233 were pardoned.
"The ministry has recently formed a committee to check the files of prisoners across the country and decide who deserve the pardon, it added.
According to the constitution, the president has the right to issue pardons for convicted prisoners after consulting with the Cabinet. However, the perpetrators of certain crimes are not eligible for pardon. These crimes comprise arms trafficking, terrorism, drug trafficking of more than 10 kilograms, “heroin” trade regardless of the quantity, and revenge killing. The decree was published in the official gazette.
Late in March, the Ministry of Interior's Prison Sector released 392 prisoners upon Presidential Pardon on the occasion of Police Day and the 68th anniversary of the epic Ismailia battle.
"The release of the prisoners comes as part of the ministry’s reform plan and to keep up with the punitive execution from a comprehensive perspective, activating the executive role of the methods of releasing the convicts, who have been seen as qualified to start engaging in the society," the ministry stated.
On 25 April, Egypt celebrates the completion of the withdrawal of all Israeli military forces from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982, following the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
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