![Egyptian prisoners can be seen behind metal bars [CJPME/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2016_10-3-prison-egyptCt2vxuxW8AAHDOw.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has pardoned 332 prisoners, mainly youth activists who participated in “illegal” demonstrations in recent years.
Among those pardoned are two members of Egypt’s Destour Party and prisoners with illnesses, although a full list has not yet been released.
“We signed off on more than 330 [pardoned] and I ask of the interior minister that these youth spend tonight in their home,” Al-Sisi said at a youth conference in Cairo yesterday.
Al-Sisi had promised in 2016 to amend a protest law restricting demonstrations and to release youth imprisoned in demonstrations against his rule.
Egypt has seen a decrease in mass protests owing to a law in 2013 that requires permission from the Interior Ministry for any public gathering of more than ten people.
Since coming to power in 2014, Al-Sisi has cracked down on dissenting voices and banned the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, putting thousands of members of the group behind bars. As a result the country’s human rights record has come under strong criticism.
Read: Egypt orders 20 more alleged metro protesters detained