Egypt's released political prisoners get economic aid
A presidential initiative puts former political detainees on economic track after their release.
CAIRO — An Egyptian presidency program that offers amnesty to political prisoners not involved in violence has gone the extra mile by finding jobs for these prisoners after their release.
The program is seen by the former detainees as giving them renewed hope, and rescuing them from the economic devastation associated with incarceration.
The post-release employment program, some of the former detainees said, also protects them from stigma in a society that views former prisoners as criminals, regardless of whether they are locked up on political grounds or not.
"The program has changed my life altogether after the months I spent in jail," former detainee Roufa Saloma al-Serihi told Al-Monitor. "I am getting a second chance in life."
