The decree was published in the official gazette on Wednesday. No further details have been released about the number or identity of the pardoned inmates.

Egypt has released thousands of inmates by presidential pardon in recent years on different national and religious occasions.

Wednesday 25 January marks the twelfth anniversary of the 2011 revolution that ousted late president Hosni Mubarak.

It also marks Police Day, which commemorates resistance by Egyptian police against British occupation forces in Ismailia in 1952.

The presidential pardons on national and religious occasions are separate from the activity of the Presidential Pardon Committee.

Formed in 2016, the Presidential Pardon Committee is mandated to review the cases of those imprisoned for political crimes and others who meet certain conditions, such as families who have more than one relative in jail.

El-Sisi announced the revival of the committee during the annual Egyptian Family Iftar Banquet in April 2022, while also calling for holding a national dialogue between political forces “without discrimination or exception.”

More than 1,000 pretrial detainees have been released and 12 convicts have been pardoned since the re-activation of the Presidential Pardon Committee.