The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has ordered the release of 60 political prisoners who have already served 15 or more years of their sentence.  

The released include Aboud and Tarek El-Zomor, convicted in 1984 for their role in the assassination of Egypt’s former President Anwar Sadat and their belonging to the Islamic Jihad group.

The two prisoners had already served their terms and were ordered to be released but were never set free because of the Interior Ministry's power to hold prisoners five more years on security grounds.

Several of the released will remain under security surveillance for a maximum of five years in accordance with the law.