The pardon, according to the presidential decree, includes those who are currently facing trial as well as those already serving jail sentences. The decree was issued as Mursi completed 100 days in office.
"The blanket pardon applies to whoever been sentenced during the January 25 Revolution while trying to support the revolution," the presidential decree read, adding that the amnesty excludes those convicted of murder.
The statement further said that a list of those receiving pardons will be published by the public prosecutor and military attorney general in the official government gazette within a month, urging whoever is missing from the list to file a petition with the government.
Morsi's legal consultant Mohamed Gadallah told al-Jazeera that the pardon will include military officers who were arrested for participating in pro-revolution protests.
The decree was issued after 18 months of continued campaigns by different rights groups pressuring the Egyptian government to release political prisoners.
Activist and leading member of 'No to Military Trials for Civilians' campaign Mona Seif welcomed the decision on her Twitter account but said it does not go far enough.
"The text states that the pardon only applies to those who were arrested in pro-revolution events, which means that citizens who have been unjustly tried by military courts over a fight or children arrested for non-political reasons are not included in that pardon," Seif said.
Seif told Ahram Online that given that the pardon is restricted to the time period from 25 January 2011 to 30 June 2012, those arrested during the recent clashes at the US embassy will not be released.
Revolutionary groups and opposition political parties have planned national demonstrations on Friday which would call on president Morsi to release all those arrested by the government for taking part in the revolution or protests afterwards.
