Rabat, Jan 11 (IANS): Moroccan King Mohammed VI has pardoned 265 prisoners ahead of the Proclamation of Independence Day, Moroccan Ministry of Justice said.

A total of 204 inmates had their prison terms reduced, said the statement released on Friday, adding that 61 other prisoners were granted freedom, Xinhua news agency reported.

The king's pardons came one day before the 76th anniversary of Moroccan proclamation of independence which will be celebrated on Saturday.

The pardons included eight women detainees in terrorism cases who took part in the fifth edition of the Reconciliation Program (Mussalaha), the statement added.

Those detainees had expressed their adherence to the sacred values of the nation and national institutions, reviewed their ideological tendencies and rejected extremism and terrorism, according to the statement.

The Proclamation of Independence Day is celebrated on January 11 every year to commemorate Morocco's first proclamation of independence on January 11, 1944.