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Moroccan King Pardons 958 Prisoners

Moroccan King Mohammed VI performed the Eid prayer on Monday. (MAP)
Moroccan King Mohammed VI performed the Eid prayer on Monday. (MAP)
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Moroccan King Pardons 958 Prisoners

Moroccan King Mohammed VI performed the Eid prayer on Monday. (MAP)
Moroccan King Mohammed VI performed the Eid prayer on Monday. (MAP)

Moroccan King Mohammed VI granted pardon to 958 prisoners on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the kingdom's Justice Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement said that 29 prisoners convicted of extremism and terrorism are among the pardoned people, noting they have participated in an initiative launched by the Moroccan government to rehabilitate terrorists.

Of these prisoners, 23 were released, while six got reductions in their sentences.

Called "Moussalaha," meaning "reconciliation" in Arabic, the program is offered to prisoners who have demonstrated willingness to disavow extremism.

Since 2002, Morocco has dismantled more than 2,000 militant cells and arrested more than 3,500 people accused of links to radical groups.

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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.