On Wednesday, 6 June, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued pardons for 712 prisoners ahead of the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr holiday. According to Reuters, Egyptian “security sources said many of those freed were youth jailed for anti-government protests.”

President El Sisi has now issued 1,329 pardons for prisoners, the majority of whom are youths. Ahram Online noted that “the first decree in November 2016 pardoned 82 prisoners, the second in March 2017 pardoned 203 prisoners, and the third was in May with 332 prisoners.”

For more information, please see the Ahram Online article below.

Egypt’s Sisi pardons 712 prisoners ahead of Eid Al-Fitr
https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/301928/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Sisi-pardons–prisoners-ahead-of-Eid-AlFitr.aspx
Ahram Online
6 June 2018

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi pardoned on Wednesday 712 prisoners ahead of the upcoming Eid Al-Fitr holidays, according to a statement by Egypt’s interior ministry.

Presidential decree number 133/ 2018 pardons the prisoners on the occasion of Sinai Liberation Day on 25 May.

The prison department has finalized all the paperwork necessary for the pardons to be implemented before Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which follows the fasting month of Ramadan.

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

The Egyptian president has issued three previous pardons for youth who were mostly imprisoned for violating the 2013 Protest Law. The first decree in November 2016 pardoned 82 prisoners, the second in March 2017 pardoned 203 prisoners, and the third was in May with 332 prisoners.