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)
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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.



UN Chief Urges Yemen's Houthis to Release Aid Workers

(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
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UN Chief Urges Yemen's Houthis to Release Aid Workers

(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday demanded Yemen's Houthis to release dozens of aid workers, including UN staff, a year after their arrest.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of the war-torn country, detained 13 UN personnel and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June, AFP reported.

"I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release," Guterres said in a statement issued by the office of his special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

"The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve," he added.

The Houthis at the time claimed an "American-Israeli spy cell" was operating under the cover of aid groups -- an accusation firmly rejected by the UN.

Guterres also lamented the "deplorable tragedy" of the death in detention of a World Food Program staffer in February.