The Egyptian Council of Ministers announced a decision on Nov. 21 to review pardons issued during the reign of ousted President Mohammed Morsi — June 30, 2012, through July 3, 2013 — which included a number of defendants in various cases.

The pardons issued by Morsi included members of Gamaa Islamiya, some of whom were sentenced to death or life imprisonment in exceptional trials held in the era of former President Hosni Mubarak. The released Gamaa Islamiya members include: Hassan al-Khalifa Othman Ali, Ahmed al-Qadir Bakri Mohamed, Atif Moussa Moussa Said, Hussein Fayed Taha Marzouk, Ahmed Mahmoud Hamam Abdullah, Mohammed Mohammed Ismail Khalil, al-Sayed Saber al-Sayed Khuttab, Attiya Abdulsamia Mahmoud Attiya, Abu Alaa Mohammed Abed Rabo, Abdul Hamid Othman Moussa Amran, Mahmoud Abdul Ghani Fouli and Mohammed Ibrahim Mustafa Abu Gharbia.

The cabinet decision came late, according to legal expert Essam al-Islambouli. The latter told Al-Monitor that a number of legal experts had called on the government of Hazem el-Biblawi many times to issue a decision to review the pardons made by Morsi. According to Islambouli, they did not meet the conditions to be followed with regard to pardons for criminals.

Islambouli noted that for a pardon to be issued, the following conditions should be met: A final sentence has been issued against the convicted, their behavior demonstrated that they will not return to criminal activity and their release from prison would benefit society. According to Islambouli, the pardons issued by the ousted president did not meet these conditions. Rather, Morsi relied on shady deals orchestrated between the Muslim Brotherhood and Gamaa Islamiya to secure the release of some of the latter's members.