Egyptian authorities to release 33 pretrial detainees ‘within hours’: MP Khouly

CAIRO – 9 September 2022: Egyptian authorities are prepared to release 33 pretrial detainees “within hours” after finalizing their release procedures, Member of the House of Representatives Tarek El-Khouly said on Friday.

Khouly, MP of the Coordination’s Committee of Parties’ Youth Leaders and Politicians (CPYP) and a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, thanked President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his continued support in this file.

He also thanked the general prosecutor and the Ministry of Interior for the efforts made to coordinate the release of the detainees.

Egypt has released hundreds of inmates over the past month since President Sisi called for a national dialogue in April, including pretrial detainees and pardoned inmates.

The Presidential Pardon Committee, formed in 2016 and reactivated by Sisi in April, aims to release young prisoners of conscience and reintegrate them into society.

Khouly previously explained to Egypt Today the criteria that the recently revived committee’s work is based on to prepare pardon lists.

“Our work while preparing the pardon lists and choosing names conform to two criteria; first, they must not be part of a terrorist group and second, they must not have engaged in violence and bloodshed crimes,” Khouly said.

He added that all those who do meet these criteria have the chance of being included in the pardon lists.

Khouly affirmed that the committee receives pardon requests via many avenues, including through the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and the human rights committees of the House of Representatives and Senate.

In addition, the committee receives pardon requests through the National Youth Conference website, Khouly added.