Iranian Supreme Leader to Pardon Some Protesters

On September 13, 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish Mahsa Amini was detained by the Iranian morality police in Tehran for wearing an "improper" head covering. The woman fell into a coma while in police custody and died a few days later. These incidents resulted in massive protests in a number of Iran's major cities.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed to a proposal by the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, to pardon or commute the sentence for some of detained protesters, according to Iran's state-run news agency. The amnesty will coincide with the 44th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the Rajab month festivities.

"During recent events, a number of people, especially young people, committed wrong actions and crimes as a result of the indoctrination and propaganda of the enemy. Since the foreign enemies and anti-revolutionary currents’ plans have been foiled, many of these youth now regret their actions," stated Ejei.

However, Iranian officials have said that amnesty and sentence reductions will not be applied to the following individuals:

However, the Iranian authorities have not yet announced the exact number to be amnestied. Some foreign media reported that the number of detainees was in the tens of thousands, but no exact figures have been provided.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei added that, although: "[Iranian authorities] offered them [detained individuals] this opportunity by offering amnesty and closing their case at every stage so that their future will not be affected by criminal records," but "If these pardoned people commit crimes again, they will be dealt with more severely according to the law."