Egyptian authorities freed from prison 500 members of armed Islamic groups who have renounced their violent campaign to overthrow the government, police said Monday.
The Islamists freed Sunday belonged to the Jihad, the Jamaa Islamiya and Taleh al-Fatah, groups that claimed responsibility for most of the bloody attacks during a wave of violence between 1992 and 1997, police said.
Interior Minister Habib al-Adli decided to free those Islamic militants whose "repentance and renunciation of false ideas has been proven," police added.
There were no immediate details about how long they had been in prison or even whether they had been convicted of crimes against the state. Under emergency laws, suspected militants can be detained indefinitely - CAIRO (AFP)
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