Al-Nimr's parents are expected to visit him on Friday on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

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Mr Robow celebrated the recent festival of Eid al-Adha by hosting prayers in Mogadishu's cattle market.

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Both he and the head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mustafa Amin, said the pyramid was closed for maintenance after the large number of visitors during the Eid al-Adha holiday last week.

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Mr Brahimi has been visiting a series of Middle Eastern capitals, putting forward a proposal for a ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which starts at the end of the month.

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Saudi sources told CNN that the king's pardon was not related to the beginning of the Hajj nor the Eid al-Adha festival that follows, which is normally when the Saudi monarch issues amnesty for prisoners.

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There had been speculation that Hussein would be executed before Eid Al-Adha -- a holiday period that means Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims around the world at the climax of the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

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The move, officially in honor of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, was also meant to bolster the reputation of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government is locked in a power struggle with the Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip.

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"Brahimi has appealed to the Iranian authorities to assist in achieving a ceasefire in Syria during the forthcoming Eid Al-Adha, one of the holiest holidays celebrated by the Muslims around the world, " his spokesman said, referring to the Islamic holiday which starts around October 25 and lasts several days.

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