AFP - Morocco's King Mohammed VI, on the eve of commemorations of his 10th anniversary on the throne, granted Wednesday pardons to 24,865 prisoners, and commuted 32 death sentences, the government said.

The Moroccan monarch traditionally gives hundreds, even thousands, of pardons to inmates each year as the country celebrates the Feast of the Throne.

In selecting who should be pardoned, the king took into account "humanitarian considerations in allowing the prisoners back into society," which led to the release of 517 women who are pregnant or have children and 137 minors, the justice ministry said in a statement.

In another "magnanimous gesture", Mohammed VI pardoned 659 inmates of different nationalities and commuted 32 death sentences to life imprisonment, the ministry said.

10 years of King Mohammed VI's reign July 23, 1999, death of Hassan II. On July 25, Mohammed VI (on the right) buries his father during a public ceremony that marks, for many Moroccans, the end of an era.AFP In 2004, the king helps create the “Mudawana”, a new family code giving women and children more rights.AFP Casablanca’s Hotel Farah on May 16, 2003, after suicide bombings by Islamic extremists from the shanty towns of Sidi Moumen.AFP In 2004, Mohammed VI creates the “Equity and Reconciliation Commission” to investigate human rights violations during the country’s “Years of Lead”. The king also razes the infamous secret prison of Tazmamart.AFP September 2000, opposition member Abraham Serfaty is allowed to return to Morocco after nearly nine years in exile.AFP November 1999, Driss Basri, Hassan II’s right-hand man and symbol of Morocco’s "Years of Lead", is dismissed as interior minister.AFP In March 2002, the king marries Salma Bennani, an IT engineer and commoner subsequently titled Princess Consort Lalla Salma. Pictures of their marriage are seen all over the country, whereas Hassan II’s wife never appeared publicly.AFP Mohammed VI a few hours before giving his first speech, on July 30, 1999, a date subsequently celebrated as Throne Day.AFP

Moroccan courts still hand down death sentences but no execution has been carried out since 1994.

The 45-year-old king will celebrate Thursday 10 years since he was crowned king after the death of his father Hassan II.

Also on the eve of the anniversary, Mohammed VI named three new ministers and a secretary of state in a mini-cabinet reshuffle, which included two members of the country's Berber MP (Popular Movement) party.

Analysts said the appointments were to help secure for Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi the support of the Berbers in parliament.