Casablanca – King Mohammed VI has granted a royal pardon to 672 convicts on the occasion of Eid Al Mawlid Annabawi.
Morocco’s Ministry of Justice announced on Saturday that the list of the royal pardon’s beneficiaries includes 508 convicts in detention and 155 on provisional release.
Of the 508 detainees, 10 inmates had their sentences canceled, 10 received a commutation of their life sentences, and 488 benefitted from sentence reductions.
As for the others, 61 people have been granted a pardon on their prison sentence or its remainder, and 15 were exempted from imprisonment with a fine.
Furthermore, 72 people benefited from the cancellation of their fine payments, and 7 were granted pardon on both their imprisonment and fine.
Read also: King Mohammed VI Grants Royal Pardon to 542 Convicts
Of the hundreds pardoned, 9 were convicted of extremism and terrorism charges, with 5 of them receiving sentence cancellations and 4 benefitting from sentence reductions.
According to the Ministry’s statement, these detainees were granted the pardon after having “revised their ideological orientations and rejected extremism and terrorism,” adding that they expressed their attachment to the “constants and sacredness” of Morocco’s national institutions.
The royal pardon has been a staple of religious, national, and historic celebrations in Morocco, usually being granted to hundreds of inmates.
This year in July, King Mohammed VI has awarded a royal pardon to 1,769 inmates in honor of Throne Day, the 23rd anniversary of his accession to the throne.
Similarly in August, he awarded his royal pardon to 542 convicts on the occasion of Morocco’s Revolution of the King and the People.
Eid Al Mawlid Annabawi is an Islamic holiday that commemorates the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. It takes place on the 12th day of Rabi’ Al Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar.
The occasion has historically been widely celebrated in Morocco, with unique celebrations in cities such as Sale, Rabat, Meknes, and Fez.
