TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei granted pardons or reduced sentences on Tuesday to more than 2,000 people, the judiciary said, adding that none of those involved in recent protests were on the list.
The decision comes ahead of the anniversary of the Islamic revolution, which along with other important occasions in Iran has traditionally seen the supreme leader sign off on similar pardons over the years.
“The leader of the Islamic revolution agreed to the request by the head of the judiciary to pardon or reduce or commute the sentences of 2,108 convicts,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.
The list however does not include “the defendants and convicts from the recent riots,” it said, quoting the judiciary’s deputy chief Ali Mozaffari.
Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Iran in late December before morphing into nationwide anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.
Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died during the unrest, including members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, and attributed the violence to “terrorist acts.”
Iranian authorities said the protests began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into “foreign-instigated riots” involving killings and vandalism.
International organizations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,964 deaths, mostly protesters.