Ayatollah Khamenei on Thursday agreed to pardon or reduce the sentences of 1,760 inmates, including those found guilty in courts of common pleas and Islamic Revolution tribunals, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces and the State Discretionary Punishment Organization.
The Supreme Leader’s decision came in response to a letter from the judiciary chief regarding prisoners found eligible for receiving the clemency by the relevant judicial authority.
Iran's Constitution grants the Supreme Leader the right to pardon or commute the sentences of convicts upon a recommendation from the head of the judiciary. The clemency, however, does not apply to all types of convicts, including those who have been found guilty of armed fight against the country, armed or organized drug trafficking, rape, armed robbery, arms smuggling, abduction, bribery and embezzlement.
Back in early March, Mohseni Eje’i said that that 80,000-90,000 prisoners and those accused in recent riots were pardoned at the recent order by Ayatollah Khamenei.
He stated that those who have been granted amnesty include many people who were arrested in recent unrest in the country, adding that the number of pardon cases could reach 90,000.
Ayatollah Khamenei had agreed a month earlier in February to pardon or commute the sentences of thousands of convicts, including large groups of detainees found guilty of involvement in the recent unrest in Iran.
The prisoners, who were granted clemency, had had their verdicts issued at courts of common pleas and Islamic Revolution tribunals, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces and the State Discretionary Punishment Organization.
The convicts to whom the amnesty applies should not be facing charges of espionage for outsiders, direct links with the foreign intelligence services, murder or intentional injuries, as well as vandalism or arson attack on governmental, military and public sites, and also should not be involved in a suit filed by a private plaintiff.
The clemency, however, does not apply to certain types of convicts, including those who have been sentenced for their role in the armed smuggling of narcotics, arms trafficking, kidnapping, acid attacks, rape, armed robbery, bribery, embezzlement, counterfeit money forgery, money laundering, disruption of economy, smuggling of alcoholic drinks, and organized smuggling of commodities.