Bouteflika pardons prisoners

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has released a pardon for some 41,000 "public rights" prisoners. The Algerian News Agency said that most of those prisoners who were governed by the pardon are from poor families and that the pardon aimed at giving them a new chance to rebuild their lives. The pardon was announced just a few hours before a speech read on Saturday night by the Algerian president in which he explained the framework of his policy. This was President Bouteflika's first speech since he assumed power on April 27, after he was elected president of the country.