Egypt's president Morsi pardons 569 criminals

The Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi has announced the decision to pardon 569 criminals to mark the October 6th national holiday.

As part of the amnesty, the common prisoners will be fully released from jail, with the criminals being chosen by a specific committee led by the deputy interior minister for prison affairs.

Such tactics obviously have many critics in the country, with criminals perceived to be 'getting away with it', while others have said the president has also failed on a political level.

They claim the president has failed to fulfil campaign promises to release all people jailed after military trials during the reign of the military council.

This came in the aftermath of the January 25th revolution and many say these will be more of a priority for release than ordinary prisoners.

Only in August did President Morsi pardon other political and common prisoners during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday.