CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has pardoned 712 prisoners, the state news agency MENA said on Wednesday, and security sources said many of those freed were youth jailed for anti-government protests.
A full list of those pardoned was not immediately available.
Since coming to power in 2014, El-Sisi has presided over a sweeping crackdown on Islamist opponents and liberal activists that rights groups say is the worst period of political repression in Egyptian history.
He has issued pardons several times a year, including on major national holidays, often releasing students and young protesters.
Egypt in 2013 passed a law requiring interior ministry permission for any public gathering of more than 10 people, effectively ending the mass protests that helped unseat two presidents in the span of three years beginning in 2011.
El-Sisi is a former military chief who toppled elected Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Critics say public dissent continues to be suppressed as matter of policy under El-Sisi.
El-Sisi denies that there are political prisoners in Egypt.
He was sworn in for a second term as Egyptian president on Saturday amid a crackdown on opponents after a landslide victory in a March election from which all serious opponents had withdrawn.
Egyptian President El-Sisi pardons 712 prisoners
Egyptian President El-Sisi pardons 712 prisoners
50,000 perform Ramadan Taraweeh prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque
- Worshippers gather amid heightened tensions in occupied West Bank
- Hundreds of Jerusalemites ordered not to enter mosque during holy month
LONDON: About 50,000 Palestinian worshippers performed the Isha and Ramadan Taraweeh prayers on Sunday evening at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem.
The crowds gathered despite Israeli military checkpoints and strict identity checks at the mosque’s gates, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.
Palestinians are observing the Muslim holy month, which began on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank, including attacks by settlers and raids and arrests by the Israeli army.
More than 300 Jerusalemites recently received Israeli orders prohibiting their entry to Al-Aqsa during Ramadan, the Wafa news agency reported.
Israeli forces have increased their military presence in Jerusalem and restricted access to the mosque for children under 12, men over 55 and women over 50.
Since Wednesday, thousands of Palestinians have lined up to pass through military checkpoints, including at Qalandiya and Bethlehem, in the hope of attending prayers at Al-Aqsa.
