President Patrice Talon officially granted a presidential pardon to 464 convicts on Friday, August 2, 2024.

According to decrees 1082 and 1083, the current Head of State took this exceptional measure of clemency just after the Independence Day festivities.

This list includes some prisoners from the events of 2019 and 2020. Some analysts believe that this measure would help to relieve congestion in prisons across the country.

As Amnesty International noted, the prison conditions in Benin have been a cause for concern.

The NGO’s 2023 investigation revealed that at least 46 prisoners have died in the last seven years due to harsh living conditions.

Additionally, Amnesty International reported that the number of prisoners in Benin nearly tripled, increasing from less than 7,000 in 2016 to over 18,000 in December 2023.