CAIRO: Libya has pardoned 54 Egyptian prisoners being held in jails in the North African nation as part of the 40th anniversary of the Libyan revolution. Earlier this month, another 57 Egyptians imprisoned were also pardoned as part of Libya's efforts to improve its image in the region and abroad. The moves come after Egyptian rights groups had lashed out against the Cairo government for not doing enough to protect the rights of Egyptians abroad. Assistant Egyptian Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptians Abroad, Ambassador Mohamed Abdel-Hakam, said that the pardons come within the “framework and the spirit of fraternity and the distinguished relations between Egypt and Libya, between the leaders and the people of both countries.” He added in his statement published Monday, that the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli, is making the necessary contacts with the Libyan authorities concerned in the process “to complete the procedures of the release of Egyptian citizens who were included in the decision of the pardon.” The pardons, however, have not been handed out to 35 Egyptians awaiting the death sentence, which continues to raise concerns and criticism in Egypt. Opposition Members of Parliament have condemned the foreign ministry, arguing that Egypt's inability to secure the lives of its citizens abroad “are part of the government's failure to achieve anything new and protect its people.” The MPs have added that the government did not help secure their release, which could have been accomplished by using Libya's “blood money” law – where families of victims agree to a financial sum for their losses. Egyptians have been up in arms over the recent sentences, highlighting a growing divide between Tripoli and Cairo. Many here are demanding the Egyptian government intervene in cases where Egyptians abroad are “ill-treated.†The opposition group “Muslim brotherhood” questioned why the Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit did not intervene and call on the Libyan authorities for the unconditional release of the Egyptian prisoners sentenced to death. Aboul Gheit's office has not spoken openly about the issue. The so-called “retribution and blood money†law provides prisoners the eligibility to be released upon receiving a formal waiver from the parents’ of those murdered. This is in accordance with Islamic law and forces the killer to pay the “blood money†agreed upon with the family of the victim. **reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam BM
