Just saw this on Yahoo! and thought it was a nice gesture, but kinda bizarre.
Nothing says "welcome" to your new born baby like releasing thousands of criminals into the streets. :/
.....Kelly
---------------------
Morocco and Algeria Free Prisoners to Mark Birth
Thu May 8, 4:09 PM ET
RABAT (Reuters) - King Mohammed of Morocco celebrated the birth of a son and heir on Thursday by ordering the release of more than 9,000 prisoners from Morocco's crowded jails, one of the biggest royal pardons in the country's history.
In neighboring Algeria, state radio said President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had marked the forthcoming birthday of the Prophet Mohammed by pardoning 5,000 inmates.
A Moroccan Royal Palace communique announced the birth to the royal couple of a son, Moulay El Hassan (Prince Hassan), in Rabat, and said mother and baby were both in good health. The prince is the couple's first child and the heir to the throne.
To celebrate the event, the Royal Guard fired a 101-gun salute and the official MAP news agency said Mohammed decided to free 9,459 prisoners, including 293 foreigners, and reduce the jail sentences of 38,529. MAP did not say whether political activists were included or name those freed.
King Mohammed, 39, came to the throne in July 1999 after the sudden death of his father Hassan, who ruled the Muslim North African country for 38 years. The Alawite dynasty to which they belong has ruled Morocco since 1665.
In March 2002 Mohammed married Salma Bennani, a 25-year-old computer systems engineer and daughter of a college lecturer from the city of Fez. She received the title of princess -- a break with the tradition that the king's wife was known as 'mother of the princes' and never appeared in public.
MAP said all Moroccan children born on Thursday would be registered so they could 'benefit from the king's attention.'
Moroccan prisons have a capacity of 40,000, but hold some 57,000 inmates. Their decrepit state has often been criticized, especially after the death in November of 50 inmates in a fire that ravaged a prison in El Jadida, on the Atlantic coast.
The Algerian amnesty ahead of next Wednesday's celebration included some inmates sentenced to life but not those jailed for terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking or rape, the radio said.
The word 'terrorism' is used by official media to refer to the activity of Islamist guerrillas fighting the government since 1992 in a bid to establish a purist Islamic state.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in the decade-long civil strife but over the past 12 months violence linked to rebel groups has diminished sharply. In December Bouteflika pardoned 5,000 inmates. (additional reporting by Paul de Bendern in Algiers)
Linear Mode
