Egypt pardons 82 young detainees accused of ‘defaming religious symbols’

Egypt pardons 82 detainees, mostly university students but also a former TV host convicted of “defaming religious symbols.”

The names of those pardoned by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi were compiled by a committee he set up to examine the cases of young detainees who had not been involved in violence.

Members of the committee say active members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood would not be pardoned. The military overthrew President Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood, in 2013. El-Sissi, who led his ouster, was elected the following year.

Authorities have detained thousands of people in the last three years, mostly Islamists but also prominent secular activists. The government has not said how many detainees are being held, but rights groups estimate the number at between 20,000 and 40,000.

Among those released Thursday was Islam Behery, who was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in March.

Behery had used his television program to air calls for the removal of what he described as “extremist material” in texts of religious interpretation and heritage. He was also a vocal advocate for religious reforms and argued that some texts by historic Islamic scholars — including ones upheld and revered by Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent seat of Sunni scholarship — contain passages that promote extremism.

His incarceration has been cited by critics as evidence of the government’s crackdown on freedom of expression, as well as the conservative discourse of Al-Azhar and its reluctance to modernize.

— AP