Egypt pardons 165

CAIRO — Egypt's president issued a decree pardoning 165 people on Wednesday, mostly youths convicted of breaking protest laws and misdemeanours ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

Many of the pardons issued by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi were to university students, some of whom were jailed under a draconian law that heavily punishes demonstrations staged without police permits.

The move comes amid a state-orchestrated campaign to silence dissent, where courts dispense stiff sentences against both Islamists and secular-minded activists over charges mostly related to violence. Pardons during national and religious holidays are a tradition in Egypt.

Rights groups say many of the people were sentenced over the past two years to around three to four years of imprisonment, and that some were arrested at home or on the sidelines of protests in which they were not participating.

The protest measure became law after the Sisi-led military's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, part of a sweeping crackdown against his supporters and other dissidents.

The clampdown, which left hundreds dead and thousands in prison, some without charges, has sparked a radical backlash and attacks against security forces.