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Morocco: King pardons prisoners to mark daughter birthday Sat. March 03, 2007 07:33 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) More than 24,000 prisoners get their sentences reduced, as Morocco's King Mohammed VI marks the birth of his daughter, the justice ministry said in a statement. This is the largest number of inmates to be given a royal pardon. Human rights groups have often criticized the cramped conditions in which an estimated prison population of 55,000 is incarcerated. Amongst those still held in detention are hundreds of suspected Islamist militants who were arrested in the wake of suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003. The justice ministry said the pardon was motivated by humanitarian considerations, and a wish for prisoners to be re-integrated into Moroccan society. "The releases have already begun and could take as long as a week to be completed," a ministry spokesman is quoted by Reuter’s news agency as saying. Our correspondent says it is customary in the North African kingdom to mark national and religious holidays and special occasions with prisoner releases. There has been great excitement over the birth of the king's new daughter and second child, Princess Lalla Khadija, which happened earlier this week. News Category: Africa Latest Headlines Latest News Somalia: Somali pirates hijack second Stolt ship-of... Libya: 6 killed as gun battles break out in southeas... Nigeria: Militants threaten to renew "oil war" if a... Zimbabwe: Opposition chief Tsvangirai rejects SADC c... Philippine: Troops kill 10 Muslim rebels in the troub... Ivory Coast: Political leaders postpone November 3... Rwanda: Thousands protest against arrest of Rwa... Nicaragua: Thousands riot after Nicaragua local elec... India negotiating a $1.5 -billion arms deal with Isra... Sudan, Chad restore full diplomatic ties, exchange e... More News...