Algeria issues amnesty for 3,500 prisoners

Algerian demonstrators carry national and Amazigh flags as well as bricks to build a wall at the entrance of the daira (sub-prefecture) of Tizi-Ouzou, in the Kabylie heartland of the Amazigh community, about 100 kms (62 miles) east of the capital Algiers, on December 8, 2019, during a rally ahead of the presidential vote scheduled for December 12. – Algeria’s contentious presidential election campaign is highlighting the vast gap between youth at the heart of a reformist protest movement and an ageing elite they see as clinging to power. (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI / AFP) (Photo by RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune yesterday issued a presidential amnesty for 3,471 prisoners.

The Algerian presidency said in a statement that Tebboune signed a presidential decree that included amnesty measures in favour of the first batch of 3,471 prisoners, who have been imprisoned for a period equal to or less than six months.

Read: Algeria pardons thousands of prisoners

The statement pointed out that the final verdict on the release of a second batch of prisoners, who have been detain for a period equal to or less than 12 months, will be given soon.

Tebboune, who was elected president on 19 December, ordered the release of dozens of people, who were arrested during the protests.

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