Moroccan King Grants Royal Pardon for 1,518 Convicts

King Mohammed VI performing the Eid prayer (MAP)
King Mohammed VI performing the Eid prayer (MAP)
TT

Moroccan King Grants Royal Pardon for 1,518 Convicts

King Mohammed VI performing the Eid prayer (MAP)
King Mohammed VI performing the Eid prayer (MAP)

Moroccan King Mohammed VI pardoned 1,518 people, including 17 convicts in terrorism and extremism cases, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

The Ministry of Justice stated that 1,270 detainees were included in the royal pardon, in addition to pardoning 411 inmates for their remaining sentences, 858 who had their prison term reduced, converting life imprisonment to a fixed prison term for one inmate.

Also, 231 people benefited from the amnesty, including 61 people who helped from pardon over their prison sentences or remaining prison terms, eight people benefited from pardon over their imprisonment terms while their fines were maintained, 156 people had their fines annulled, four individuals had both their imprisonment terms and penalties annulled, and two persons had their fines and remaining of terms annulled.

The royal pardon included a group of 17 convicts in cases of extremism and terrorism after officially expressing their attachment to the unwavering and sacred constants of the Nation and national institutions, revising their ideological orientations and rejecting extremism and terrorism.

On Saturday, King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay el-Hassan, Prince Moulay Rachid, Prince Ahmed, and Prince Moulay Ismail performed the Eid al-Fitr prayer at the Mohammedan Mosque in Casablanca.



Over 50,000 Have Fled Lebanon for Syria Amid Israeli Strikes, Says UN

Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
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Over 50,000 Have Fled Lebanon for Syria Amid Israeli Strikes, Says UN

Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo

The UN refugee chief said Saturday that more than 50,000 people had fled to Syria amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.

"More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli air strikes," Filippo Grandi said on X.

He added that "well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon".

A UNHCR spokesman said the total number of displaced in Lebanon had reached 211,319, including 118,000 just since Israel dramatically ramped up its air strikes on Monday, AFP reported.

The remainder had fled their homes since Hezbollah militants in Lebanon began low-intensity cross-border attacks a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, as cross-border exchanges escalated over the past week.

Most of those Lebanese deaths came on Monday, the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

"Relief operations are underway, including by UNHCR, to help all those in need, in coordination with both governments," Grandi said.