Algerian president to release 5,000 prisoners soon

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is to start on Monday releasing 5,000 Islamists as he gets ready to hold a referendum on a national reconciliation law to end the violence actions Algeria has witnessed for more than seven years.

Official governmental sources told ArabicNews.com that the pardon would include two leaders of Islamic Salvation Front, Abassi Madani and Ali Baljaj, adding that this will be a beginning of trust between the government and the front.

The sources said that if the idea succeeded, President Bouteflika would release nearly 15,000 persons this year, adding that the Algerian people support this procedure.