HARIPUR, June 8 Following the apex court's decision to include trial period of prisoners in their total sentence, over 100 convicts imprisoned for different criminal activities secured release from Haripur jail here on Monday, official sources said. Those who were released included five foreigners.

According to jail authorities during 2005 the Peshawar High Court had, through a judgment, ordered the exclusion of trial period from the total sentence of a convict which he/she was entitled to under section 382 B of the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, a convict namely Shah Hussain who was reportedly imprisoned in Haripur jail in a murder case had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court during 2005 seeking incorporation of his trial period in the total sentence.

A five-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry accepted the appeal and declared all the prisoners entitled to the benefit of section 382 B.