Amnesty for tens of thousands of detainees and convicts in Iran

According to the country’s official agency IRNA, Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei accepted the proposal of the Head of the Judiciary, Gulam Hussein Muhsin Ejei, for amnesty and reduction of sentence on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the revolution.

Pursuant to the amnesty offer accepted by Khamenei, unlike the previous large-scale amnesties, the last of which was on February 22, 2019, the defendants in the trial phase will also benefit from amnesty and reduced sentence for the first time.

Within the scope of the amnesty, which will also benefit those who are tried or convicted due to the Mahsa Emini demonstrations, tens of thousands of people convicted of various crimes will be released or their sentences will be reduced, taking into account their sentences.

Those who shout slogans against Khamenei, write articles or make such posts on social media will also be included in the amnesty.

Those convicted of crimes such as “espionage for foreigners, direct contact with foreign intelligence services, committing war crimes, deliberate killing or wounding, destruction and arson of military or public facilities, membership of subversive groups” and those with more than two criminal records will not be able to benefit from the amnesty.

The number of people who will benefit from the amnesty will be clarified after the evaluation of the judicial authorities.

demonstrations in Iran

Mahsa Emini, 22, died on September 16 in Tehran, the capital of Iran, on September 13, 2022.

The demonstrations that started on 17 September 2022 in Sakkız, his hometown after Emini’s death, spread throughout the country and turned into anti-government protests.

More than 10,000 people were detained in months-long demonstrations across the country.

Over 1,000 people were put on trial due to the protests, while 4 people were executed.

Norway-based Iranian Human Rights Organization (IHR), in its report published on January 9, stated that 481 protesters died as a result of the intervention of the security forces in the demonstrations that started after Emini’s death.