Amnesty for Iraq prisoners

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council, chaired by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, issued a series of sweeping pardons for inmates of Iraqi prisons.

The move was announced two days before the celebration marking the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988.

Among those having their sentences wiped away are people who have served two years in prison, providing they were not sentenced originally to more than 10 years.

Even some prisoners given the death sentence will be freed. Others, whose crimes involved drugs, espionage, and vengeance killings, will remain behind bars.

It is not known how many prisoners there are in Iraqi prisons nor how many the pardons will ultimately affect. The order makes no direct reference to political prisoners.

The decision, signed by Hussein, was put into effect immediately, the announcement said.