2,957 inmates pardoned, 2,957 released on parole in Egypt

Egyptian Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that 2,957 inmates were pardoned on the occasion of the 68th National Police Day.

A total of 2,957 others were released on parole in accordance with a presidential decree, the ministry said in a statement.

The step is part of the interior ministry's efforts to implement a modern concept of penal policy, provide inmates with all means of welfare and apply the procedures set for releasing rehabilitated convicts, the ministry said.

It has been a custom for Egyptian presidents to pardon prisoners, mainly those who have spent more than half of their term as well as patients and the elderly, during national and significant religious occasions.