JAKARTA (Jakarta Post/Asia News Network) - The government has granted early release for 382 Muslim convicts across Indonesia after the Law and Human Rights Ministry verified them as being entitled to receive special remissions granted every Idul Fitri, known in Singapore as Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

"The Idul Fitri special remission is a gift for many Muslim inmates serving their sentences in prisons and penitentiaries across the country," the ministry's corrections director general I Wayan Dusak said in a statement on Friday.

The remission, Dusak added, should be an incentive for prisoners to show good conduct and behaviour during their time in the prison.

The 382 Muslim inmates are among a total of 66,481 inmates imprisoned for various crimes across the country who had their sentences reduced under the Idul Fitri special remission, ranging for 15 days to one month. But, unlike the case of the 382 inmates, the remission does not immediately grant them early release.

According to the ministry's data, correctional facilities in Indonesia currently hold a total of 136,641 Muslim prisoners, which are among some 277,000.