Morocco’s king, Mohammed VI on Monday granted pardon to no fewer than 29 people who were jailed for ‘terrorism or extremism’ related offences in a gesture which was used to commemorate the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
According to an announcement from the justice ministry the 29 prisoners were pardoned ‘after having officially expressed their attachment to the… sacredness of the nation and to national institutions, revised their ideological orientations and rejected extremism and terrorism’, said a justice ministry statement issued on Monday.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that of those pardoned, about 23 will be freed while the remaining six will have their sentences reduced.
The 29 are part of a total of 958 people sentenced by various courts across the country that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI pardoned to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan.
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Recall that in 2017, the North African nation launched a reintegration programme called ‘Moussalaha’, or ‘Reconciliation’, in its prisons, targeting inmates convicted of ‘terrorism’ who were willing to question their beliefs.
Since 2022, the security services have dismantled more than 2,000 extremist cells and made over 3,500 arrests linked to terrorism, according to official figures.
The country has largely been spared jihadist attacks since 2003, when five suicide attacks killed 33 people and wounded scores more in the economic capital Casablanca.
But in 2018, two Scandinavian tourists were murdered by militants linked to the Islamic State group during a hiking trip in the High Atlas mountains.
In a related development, truck and taxi drivers Moroccan are currently observing a three-day strike in protest at spiraling fuel costs, the union have confirmed.
No fewer than three quarters of drivers are observing the strike, Mounir Benazouz of the SNPTR truckers’ union clarified.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that no fewer than four other unions have also joined the action which is expected to end on Wednesday.
Africa Today News, New York