Egypt: pardoning 861 prisoners on the occasion of the Eid

The Egyptian Middle East News Agency said that the Egyptian ministry of the interior yesterday decided to release 861 prisoners on the occasion of Eid al-Adha.

The agency did not specify the crimes over which they were jailed and confined to saying that "examining the files of the prisoners resulted in releasing 861 prisoners who are worthy to be released on the occasion of al-Eid."

Worthy mentioning that several convicted persons are released traditionally in Egypt on the occasion of Eid al- Adha. On the other hand, local and foreign non- governmental organizations estimate the number of detainees convicted in political cases without trials at 15,000 with the majority of them of extremist Islamists.