Casablanca — King Mohammed VI has granted a royal pardon to 1,376 people convicted by different courts across Morocco on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.
The ministry said 1,356 of the beneficiaries were covered under the main pardon list for Eid Al-Adha 1447 H and 2026. Among them, 1,195 are currently in detention. Thirteen detainees received a pardon on the remainder of their prison sentence, while 1,180 had their prison terms reduced. One detainee had a life sentence commuted to a fixed-term sentence, and another had a death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
The pardon also included 161 people who are not in custody. Sixty-three received a pardon on their prison sentence or the remainder of it. Four others had their prison sentence pardoned while their fines were maintained. Another 78 people received pardons on fines, 15 had both prison and fine sentences pardoned, and one person received a pardon on a fine and the remainder of a prison sentence.
The King also granted a royal pardon to 20 detainees convicted in extremism and terrorism cases. The ministry said they had formally expressed attachment to Morocco’s national constants, sacred values and institutions, revised their ideological positions, and rejected extremism and terrorism. Of these, two received pardons on fines and the remainder of prison terms, 12 received pardons on the remainder of prison terms, and six had prison sentences reduced.
Royal pardons are a long-standing practice in Morocco and are usually announced on major religious and national occasions, including Eid Al-Adha, Eid Al-Fitr, Throne Day and the anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People. The practice is rooted in the King’s constitutional power to grant clemency, and it has been regularly used under King Mohammed VI since he came to the throne in 1999, as well as under previous monarchs.
Every year, the Ministry of Justice publishes lists of beneficiaries during these occasions, with measures ranging from sentence reductions to full pardons on remaining prison terms or fines.
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