DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the release of 346 prisoners to mark Eid Al Adha.
The prisoners are of various nationalities, serving time at numerous penal and reformative institutions in the emirate.
Dubai’s Attorney General, Essam Al Humaidan, said public prosecutors immediately started the legal procedures to ensure the prisoners could be released before the Islamic holiday officially begins on Tuesday.
Mr Al Humaidan thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his generous gesture.
Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, has also ordered the release of 44 prisoners to mark the occasion.
The Fujairah prisoners had all shown good behaviour while behind bars.
“This will give them the opportunity to join their families soon and live the rest of their lives as good individuals,” said Brigadier Mohammed Ahmed Ghanem Al Kaabi, the director general of Fujairah Police.
Also to mark Eid, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has announced it will sponsor 106 released prisoners to return to their home countries.
The charitable foundation will cover all the costs to send the prisoners, of different nationalities, to their homelands, state news agency Wam said.
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