President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree on Sunday to pardon prisoners on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr and the 56th anniversary of the 1952 revolution.

Presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef said the pardon would include inmates who had served 15 years in jail before 25 January 2015. 

The pardoned inmates will be on a parole for five years, according to the Egyptian Penal Code. 

The pardon will also include inmates who have served half of their prison terms as long as it is longer than six months. 

The decree does not apply, however, to those imprisoned for certain crimes including: felonies and misdemeanours that harm the government internally or externally, explosives, bribes, forgery, obstructing traffic, weapons and ammunition, drugs, and illegal profiting. 

Egyptian presidents have traditionally pardoned groups of prisoners on national and religious holidays.