La Paz, November 13 (PL-RHC)-- The presidential pardon issued by President Evo Morales last July has benefited 4,118 prisoners in Bolivia so far, Cambio state journal reported on Thursday.

In addition to the number of prisoners released, another 450 have presented their requests and are waiting for their cases to be processed, the journal adds.

The journal quotes Public Defense Director General David Tezanos, who said the delay in the ongoing cases is due to bureaucratic problems and not to instructions to stall them.

Among those pardoned are people who have not been sentenced yet, said government minister Carlos Romero, who explained that the pardon is being processed by a commission made up by the Judicial Organ, and the Justice and Government ministries through the General Directorate of the Penitentiary System.

Bolivia faces serious overpopulation problems in prisons, where inmates live with the rest of their families, including children.

The delay in the implementation of justice constitutes one of the fundamental causes of overpopulation in Bolivian prisons, which host people accused of several crimes who have not been prosecuted after many years.