Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi issued a decree to pardon 560 prisoners. The pardon decree, which was published by the official gazette on Friday, included young people and prisoners with health problems. Prominent journalist Abdel Halim Qandil was among those pardoned based on his critical medical condition. Qandil was sentenced to three years in prison in October 2017 for insulting the judiciary and criticising court rulings. His sentence was upheld in October 2018. All those pardoned were convicted in cases between 2013 and 2017. Earlier in May, the ministry of interior released 3,094 prisoners on the occasion of Sinai Liberation Day. The ministry further granted conditional pardons to 346 prisoners. The state regularly pardons prisoners during religious and national occasions. In a different context, the president commemorated during Friday prayer the 46th anniversary of the 10th of Ramadan war victory (6th of October war in 1973). Al-Sisi stressed that the Egyptian armed forces and the police are the two wings of stability for the country and expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Egyptian people to the army and the police for their role in preserving Egypt's national security and their contribution to development projects.
