UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan orders the release of 988 prisoners ahead of Eid Al Adha.

The President’s annual pardon is a humanitarian gesture granted to prisoners ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, to provide them with the opportunity to start afresh and reintegrate into society. 

However, dozens of political prisoners, imprisoned for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, have been excluded from the pardon and remain behind bars. 

The pardon also excluded the 56 prisoners of conscience who are continued to be held in UAE jails without any legal basis after ending their prison sentences.

They remain held in flagrant violation of national and international laws, in what is called as “indefinite detention”.