According to media reports, the clemency orders issued on Sunday included the Hirak activists released from pre-trial detention last week on a provisional basis
Ghares was convicted on charges of insulting the president and harming national unity. He was sentenced to two years in prison in January
The independent journalist was arrested in March 2020 and charged with various serious offenses while he was covering the anti-establishment Hirak protests in Algeria
According to Algerian human rights organizations, at least 300 people are currently in jail due to their participation in the Hirak protests
He has been arrested on multiple charges, including for allegedly allegedly insulting president Abdelmadjid Tebboune
The recently concluded legislative elections on June 12 saw no party win a majority in the parliament
The Hirak protests continued on Friday despite a recent ban on unauthorized protests. Those on the streets were met with massive police deployment and large-scale detentions
Algerians gathered in the town of Kherrata where the first spark of the Hirak protests was lit in 2019. The protests led to the overthrow of then president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and have continued demanding the removal of the military and political elite of his time
Said Bouteflika, Mohamed Mediene and Bachir Tartag were acquitted by the military appeals court on Saturday after a retrial cleared them of conspiracy charges