Directorate spokesman Lt. Col. Ayoub bin Hijab said the royal pardon will cover thousands of prisoners all over the Kingdom. He added that special committees were busy studying the files of prisoners eligible for release under the pardon.

The spokesman said the release of prisoners would continue over the next two weeks and asked all prisoners benefiting from this royal gesture not to commit crimes again.

He said 100 Saudi and foreign men and women have already been released from Jeddah prisons and between 300 and 400 prisoners were expected to be released within the next fortnight.

Hijab asked the committees studying individual cases to expedite examining the files of prisoners eligible for release so they could immediately benefit from the royal pardon.

Director of Briman penitentiary Col. Ahmad Abdullah Al-Shahrani said the prison’s management was also studying the files of eligible prisoners.

The directorate general of prisons in Madinah has so far released 127 prisoners and provided them with gifts, including religious books and CDs, to deepen their faith and prevent them from committing to crime again.

In Tabuk, Al-Baha and Umluj, a total of 181 men and women prisoners have been released so far.

Thirty prisoners each from Makkah and Arar in the north have also been released under the royal pardon.

Talking to Arab News, many of the released prisoners and their families thanked King Abdullah for the pardon, wishing him good health and a long life.