Tehran excludes protest detainees from mass clemency decree

15:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Tehran excludes protest detainees from mass clemency decree

Iranian authorities have confirmed that none of the people detained or convicted over recent nationwide protests were included in a large-scale clemency decision approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The judiciary said the measure covered more than 2,100 inmates but deliberately excluded those linked to unrest that swept the country in recent months.

In a statement published by the judiciary’s Mizan Online outlet, officials said the head of Iran’s judicial system had requested sentence reductions, commutations, or pardons for 2,108 convicts, a request endorsed by Khamenei. Deputy judiciary chief Ali Mozaffari said the list did not extend to defendants or prisoners associated with what authorities describe as recent riots.

Such clemency announcements often coincide with major national events, including the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which is marked later this week. Similar gestures have been made in previous years, though they have routinely excluded those accused of threatening national security.

The decision follows weeks of unrest that began with demonstrations over the rising cost of living before expanding into broader anti-government protests across multiple provinces. The demonstrations reached their peak in early January and were met with a wide-ranging security crackdown.

Iranian officials say at least 3,000 people were killed during the unrest, including members of the security forces and civilians, and maintain that violence during the protests was driven by what they describe as terrorist actions. Independent organisations and activists dispute those figures. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed nearly 7,000 deaths, most of them protesters, while sources cited by Euronews say the true toll could be significantly higher amid tight restrictions on domestic media coverage.

At the same time, Iranian authorities have intensified pressure on figures linked to the country’s reformist movement. Local media have reported a series of arrests involving reformist activists in recent days. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, already imprisoned, has received an additional sentence of at least seven years, according to a group supporting her, on charges including assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the state.

The exclusion of protest-related detainees from the clemency move underscores the government’s uncompromising stance as Iran navigates renewed nuclear negotiations with the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that military action remains an option if talks fail, adding to the pressure on Tehran amid ongoing domestic and international tensions.