Egypt’s President Mohammed Mursi has pardoned all those charged with or convicted for crimes and misdemeanours committed “in support of the revolution” that ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak.
The pardon, according to the presidential decree, includes those who are currently facing trial as well as those already serving jail sentences. The decree was issued as Mursi completed 100 days in office.
“The blanket pardon applies to whoever been sentenced during the January 25 Revolution while trying to support the revolution,” the presidential decree read, adding that the amnesty excludes those convicted of murder.
The statement further said that a list of those receiving pardons will be published by the public prosecutor and military attorney general in the official government gazette within a month, urging whoever is missing from the list to file a petition with the government.
Morsi’s legal consultant Mohamed Gadallah told al-Jazeera that the pardon will include military officers who were arrested for participating in pro-revolution protests. The decree was issued after 18 months of continued campaigns by different rights groups pressuring the Egyptian government to release political prisoners.
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