I don’t like what happened, but IMO its their country and their right to run it how they please – its also why I will never travel to countries like this nor willingly support them via business.
that said, in Islamic countries its fairly standard practice to release non-violent criminals around Ramadhan as a act of charity.
mind you we do similar with Vietnamese cannabis growers, they are not quite “pardoned” as such but before deportation they are released as having fully served their time otherwise they would face death penalty on return to Viet Nam.
