The Iranian authorities announced the pardon of 22 thousand people in custody because of the protests taking place in the country.
It is reported March 13 Associated Press. According to the head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Ejei, people who were accused of theft or violent crimes in connection with the protests did not get a pardon.
AP notes that so far there is no independent confirmation that the prisoners were actually released. Iranian media and human rights activists have not reported on the facts of the mass release of activists from prisons in recent days.
Massive protests in Iran have been going on since September. The reason for their beginning was the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini – she died shortly after she was detained by the vice police for wearing the hijab “incorrectly”. At first, the protesters demanded gender equality, but very quickly their demands began to include sweeping reforms and regime change.
The Iranian authorities are very harshly suppressing the protests, including with the use of military weapons. Tens of thousands of people have been detained; according to human rights activists, more than 500 protesters were killed in clashes with security forces. More than a hundred people on the totality of the charges can be sentenced to death.
As noted by the state news agency IRNA, the amnesty did not apply to those convicted of murder or damage to state property. At the same time, several people have already been executed. They were accused of inciting riots and attacking members of the security forces.
Human rights activists have already called Khamenei’s decision “hypocritical.”
It doesn’t change anything,” wrote Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam of Iran Human Rights. “It is necessary not only to immediately and unconditionally release all detained demonstrators, but also to bring to justice all those who carried out bloody repressions.
The Iranian authorities have not yet revealed how many people were detained during the recent mass protests that broke out in September 2022 after the death of Amini, who was detained for wearing the hijab incorrectly. According to human rights activists, their number may exceed 20 thousand people.
Source: Racurs
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