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Presidential pardon sees 1,600 prisoners freed in Tunisia
 Around 1,600 Tunisian prisoners, including dozens of radical Islamists and people jailed for using the Internet for “terrorist purposes”, have been freed under a presidential pardon, the official TAP news agency reported Saturday President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali's move led to the full release of 1,298 prisoners, while 359 others were freed on parole, according to TAP. Among those freed were more than 70 radical Islamists, members of the banned Ennahda movement including several leaders such as journalist Hamadi Jebali, according to defence lawyers. They had been convicted and sentenced to long prison terms in the 1990s for membership in the party and attempting to take power by force. The amnesty, which comes a month after the north African country celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence, was announced after a meeting between Ben Ali and his interior and justice ministers Rafik Belhaj Kacem and Bechir Tekkari. An unspecified number of prisoners also had the length of their sentences reduced, said TAP. It said Ben Ali had asked for measures to be taken to ensure the released prisoners were reintegrated into society and that they did not reoffend. Posted by: Fred 2006-02-27 |
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