SANA'A, Yemen, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Saturday said he intends to release a number of prisoners suspected of affiliation to al-Qaida.
The prisoners, he said, have "returned to the right path," but did not say how many he sought to pardon.
Saleh said during an iftar banquet, breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan, the government "spoke to the extremists and many of them have returned to the right path, and when they did, we freed them, and will free as many of them as possible on the occasion of Ramadan -- as long as they do not repeat what brought them to prison."
He added about 1,500 prisoners will be pardoned before the end of the year, insisting there are "no political prisoners or prisoners of conscience."
While the government has from time to time declared its intention to free suspected "extremists," defense lawyers say none of the 195 still detained on terror charges have been released.
