New group of prisoners will be released in 24 hours: Presidential pardon committee member

CAIRO – 29 May 2022: A new group of prisoners will be released within 24 hours, said Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a member of the presidential pardon committee and deputy human rights commissioner for the Coordination of Youth Parties and Politicians (CPYP) on Sunday.

On his Facebook page, Abdel Aziz thanked President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and said that many lists of would-be released names to follow.

On May 4, 2022, a total of 986 inmates have been pardoned by President Sisi on Eid al-Fitr, according to a statement by the Ministry of Interior.

The Presidential Pardon Committee works with the relevant authorities and several NGOs to pardon those who meet the conditions.

The Ministry of Interior said this comes as it follows the “modern sense” of punitive policy. Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched the national human rights strategy in September with vows to open the public space to be more and more inclusive.

Also, three journalists were released via a presidential pardon, and 41 activists were released from pre-trial detention per a State Security Prosecution decree on April 24-15.

Criteria for inmates who could be pardoned per a presidential decree was revealed by a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, which has been reactivated by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in April.

In an interview with Youm7, the committee member Tarek El Awady said that anyone who did not shed blood nor participated in acts of violence and terrorism would be released and those who served the time of pre-trial detention must be released immediately or referred to a trial.

“Those who participated in a protest, wrote [anti-government] post on social media, or distributed leaflets must be included in [the list of] presidential pardon or released if they are in pretrial detention,” said, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, which has been reactivated by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, in an interview with Youm7.