Iraqi Judiciary: 50,000 Prisoners Released So Far Under Amnesty

On Tuesday, the number of prisoners released from Iraqi jails under the new Amnesty Law reached passed 50,000. Abd al-Sattar al-Birqadar, spokesman for the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, announced Tuesday that 50,535 people have been released under the Amnesty Law since it went into effect on February 27th of this year. Birqadar, had announced on Monday that 48,922 prisoners had been released under the amnesty, including 10,472 released in the last ten days. Aswat al-Iraq, an independent Iraqi news service, notes that this means 1,613 prisoners were released in a between Monday’s and Tuesday’s announcements. In his statement on Monday, Abd al-Sattar al-Birqadar said that 5,351 prisoners were serving sentences in Iraqi jails, and an additional 10,472 detainees were awaiting trial. It would seem that these numbers now need to be adjusted down by 1,613, to reflect the release of prisoners since Monday. Sources: Aswat al-Iraq, "Number of Prisoners in Iraqi Jails Drops to About 5,000 Two Months After Amnesty," April 23, 2008 Aswat al-Iraq, “1613 Prisoners Released in the Past Twenty Four Hours Under Amnesty Law,” April 29th, 2008