Iran pardons, commutes sentences for 2,200 convicts to mark Muslim holidays

Supreme leader Khamenei ‘granted pardons or commuted the sentences of 2,272 convicts’ for the Eid al-Adha and Ghadir religious holidays

By AFP 17 July 2022, 7:12 pm

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Iranian worshippers take part in the morning prayer ceremony for Eid al-Adha, celebrated by Muslims worldwide, at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Mosalla mosque, on July 10, 2022. (AFP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s supreme leader has pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 2,200 prisoners, including some on death row, to mark two important Muslim feasts, official sources said Sunday.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “granted pardons or commuted the sentences of 2,272 convicts” for the Eid al-Adha and Ghadir religious holidays, which both fall this month, a statement on his website said.

The supreme leader routinely grants collective pardons on major religious occasions, in coordination with the head of the judiciary.

The judiciary’s website, Mizan Online, said 43 of the prisoners had been sentenced to death.

Last week, Muslims across the world celebrated Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the hajj pilgrimage.

Some 900,000 pilgrims visited holy sites in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Shiite Muslims on Monday will mark Ghadir, a key religious holiday that takes its name from Ghadir-Khom in Saudi Arabia, where Shiites believe the Prophet Mohammed named Imam Ali as his successor.