Egypt: Morsi pardons ‘revolutionaries’ via Facebook

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Monday pardoned all those arrested during the popular uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak that began last year.

A post to the president's official Facebook page announced that deeds "committed with the aim of supporting the revolution" would fall under amnesty, according to the BBC.

The BBC said the decree could lead to the release of thousands of people.

The amnesty period would extend from January 5, 2011 to June 30, 2012, with the exception of first-degree murder, according to Agence France Presse, which cited state media.

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The amnesty would cover people who were already convicted, as well as those who are still under investigation or on trial.

Egyptian newspaper Ahram Online reported that a full list of those receiving pardons would be published by the public prosecutor and military attorney general.

According to Ahram Online, Morsi's legal consultant, Mohamed Gadallah, said the pardon would include military officers arrested for participating in the protests.

An order was issued on Sept. 29 to reduce the sentences of 21 officers who were jailed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which held power in the interim period between Mubarak's ouster and Morsi's election, to suspended one-year jail terms.

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