Iranian Supreme Leader pardons 22,000 people arrested during anti-government protests
President Ebrahim Raisi (left) shakes hands with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in an official welcoming ceremony at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 13, 2023
IRANIAN Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pardoned 22,000 people arrested during recent anti-government protests, the head of the judiciary announced today.
There was no immediate independent confirmation of the statement by Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, though it gave a glimpse of the size of the crackdown on demonstrations against last September’s death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Ms Amini died soon after being detained by the so-called morality police for allegedly infringing Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Similar stories
History shows from Iraq to Libya, and now Iran, that regime-change fantasies rarely deliver stability — but they always deliver human and economic cost, says MARYAM ESLAMDOUST
As tensions rise in the Middle East, the role of Iran in the region’s political balance becomes ever more significant. STEVE BISHOP assesses the current situation
