Mohseni Eje’i made the remarks in an interview with Ayatollah Khamenei’s website on Sunday.
He confirmed that the number of prisoners who have been pardoned based on the recent order by Ayatollah Khamenei has reached over 80,000.
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.
The judiciary chief noted, however, that the pardons have not affected inmates who are behind bars because of complaints by private plaintiffs.
Back in early February, Ayatollah Khamenei agreed 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.
Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi said last month that his government had been authorized to use the pardon power to release university students, cultural, sports and media figures who have been arrested because of their involvement in the riots.
Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.
An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.
The unrest has claimed the lives of dozens of people and security forces, while also allowing acts of terror and sabotage across the country. Iran's Interior Ministry has confirmed the enemy waged a hybrid war against the country to weaken national solidarity and hinder the country's progress, stressing that some 200 people lost their lives in the riots sparked by separatist and terrorist groups.
The US, the UK and the European Union (EU) have imposed a slew of sanctions against Iranian individuals and legal entities since the September death in police custody of an Iranian woman. Iran has returned the adversarial measures and meddlesome statements with sanctions against European, American and British officials and institutions.