JAKARTA - Supreme Leader of Iran 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 included on the list.
The decision comes ahead of the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution which, along with other important events in Iran, has traditionally seen the supreme leader sign similar pardons over the years.
"The leader of the Iranian Revolution approved the request of the head of the judiciary to pardon or reduce or mitigate the sentences of 2,108 convicts," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said, citing Al Arabiya from AFP (10/2).
However, the list does not include "the defendants and convicts of the recent riots," Mizan said, quoting the Deputy Chief of the Iranian Supreme Court Ali Mozaffari.
It is known that protests against rising living costs erupted in Iran at the end of December before turning into anti-government demonstrations across the country that peaked on January 8 and 9.
Tehran acknowledges more than 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, including members of the security forces and innocent civilians, and has linked the violence to "terrorist acts."
Iranian authorities say the protests began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into "foreign-instigated riots" involving killings and vandalism.
On the other hand, international organizations estimate the number of victims to be much higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified 6,964 deaths, most of them protesters.
HRANA last week said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests related to the protests.
"The arrests target a wide range of citizens, including students, writers, and teachers," he said.
"In some cases, arrests are accompanied by house searches and seizure of personal belongings," HRANA explained.
HRANA further said it had counted more than 300 forced confessions related to the protests, in which suspects made televised statements after experiencing physical or psychological torture.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolution which marked the fall of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran broke out on January 7, 1978 and ended on February 11, 1979.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
