The head of Tunisia's transitional government appeared on state television Friday to announce amnesty for political prisoners, in a move that would likely affect many convicted under harsh anti-terrorism laws, The Washington Post reports.

The announcement, by interim Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, comes a month after the ouster of autocratic president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who fled into exile.

Ben Ali had harshly suppressed hard-line Islam under anti-terror rules that many opposition figures and rights activists complained were too broad.

Ghannouchi said the general amnesty would take effect over the weekend "so that all those convicted under the former regime can get their civic and political rights back and be reintegrated into Tunisian society."

Estimates of the number of Tunisians convicted on terror charges ranged from 300 to 2,500.