Iran's spiritual authority grants clemency to approximately 3,000 incarcerated individuals.
Iran's top leader, Ali Khamenei, has granted clemency to approximately 3,000 inmates. This decision was made upon the request of Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ejei, as stated by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. The commuted sentences also included reduced penalties, and they were granted to celebrate the birthday of Islamic Prophet Muhammad and the anniversary of Shiite scholar Jafar Sadik.
As reported by the state news agency IRNA, the execution sentences of 59 inmates were transformed into prison terms. The majority of the 2,887 pardons stemmed from convictions in both ordinary and revolutionary courts. In 1,291 instances, prisoners were released, while another 1,596 inmates received sentence reductions. Furthermore, 40 foreign nationals were granted clemency.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei frequently grants pardons to prisoners, particularly during religious holidays, as an act of compassion, as religious figures suggest. In 2021, following widespread protests, Khamenei pardoned numerous prisoners. Critics accused these amnesties of serving as a diversion from the administration's oppressive measures.
On this particular Wednesday, prominent politician Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of the late former president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, was freed from prison ahead of schedule. Hashemi was arrested in late September 2022 and received a five-year sentence during the wave of protests. It's uncertain if an Austrian national imprisoned in Iran was also granted clemency.
Mohammeds, being the prophet of Islam, was celebrated along with Shiite scholar Jafar Sadik, and this celebration served as a reason for Iran's top leader, Mohammeds's name not provided in the text, to grant clemency to numerous inmates.
The commuted sentences during the celebration of Islamic Prophet Muhammad's birthday and Shiite scholar Jafar Sadik's anniversary included reduced penalties for many inmates, among whom were 40 foreign nationals, but Mohammeds's name was not specified in the text.
