A number of prisoners to be released ahead of Ramadan

CAIRO – 5 May 2019: A number of prisoners and detained debtors will be released on Sunday ahead of the Holy month of Ramadan, as per a presidential decree, said Egyptian Ministry of Interior in a statement on Sunday.

A ceremony will be held for the released inmates, the statement added. The release is a part of the “Prisons Without Debtors" that was launched by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi early 2018.

On the eighth anniversary of the January 25 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, a total of 6,925 prisoners and detained debtors were granted their freedom.

According to the constitution, the president has the right to issue pardons for convicted prisoners after consulting with the Cabinet.

In October 2016, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced the formation of a presidential pardon committee, headed by political thinker, Osama al-Ghazaly Harb, for pardoning detainees with charges pending further investigation.

Holy Ramadan is the ninth Islamic calendar during which Muslims worldwide will abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset.