UPDATE 3-Egypt's Sisi pardons 100 prisoners, including Jazeera journalists

(Adds comment from Mohamed Fahmy, Amnesty International)
CAIRO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi pardoned 100 prisoners including three Al Jazeera
television journalists, on Wednesday, a day before he plans to
head to the annual United Nations summit of world leaders.
The Al Jazeera journalists, Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian
Baher Mohamed and Australian Peter Greste, were sentenced to
three years in prison in a retrial last month for operating
without a press license and broadcasting material harmful to
Egypt. Greste had already been deported in February.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said that Canada
was pleased with the pardon and it would help arrange Fahmy's
departure from Egypt.
"Our families have suffered so much since the beginning of
this trial and we're very happy that President Sisi took this
action and released us," Mohamed Fahmy said.
"I will continue fighting for press freedom... I know there
are other defendants who are still in prison related to this
case," Fahmy said.
The pardons were reported by security sources and Egypt's
state news agency, which said they included prisoners who
violated a 2013 law banning protests without a permit, as well
as some who were sick.
"This comes in the framework of President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi's initiative to release a number of youth, which he
launched ... in December," it said, quoting presidential
sources.
Human rights groups have accused Egyptian authorities of
widespread violations since the army toppled the country's first
democratically elected president, Islamist President Mohamed
Mursi, after mass protests against his rule two years ago.
"While these pardons come as a great relief, it is ludicrous
that some of these people were even behind bars in the first
place," Amnesty International said in a statement.
"Those pardoned today include only a fraction of the
hundreds of people across the country who have been arbitrarily
arrested, and unlawfully detained," Amnesty said.
Egyptian security forces arrested dozens of activists last
year for violating the 2013 protest ban.
Also among the released were 16 women, including Yara
Sallam, the news agency said. Sallam was arrested last year
along with other activists accused of violating the protest law.
"These pardons will be little more than an empty gesture if
they are not followed up by further releases of those
arbitrarily detained, respect for the right to freedom of
expression and assembly, and accountability for perpetrators of
gross human rights violations," Amnesty said.
The pardons were announced on the same day that France said
it had agreed to sell Egypt two French Mistral helicopter
carriers, whose planned sale to Russia had been cancelled.