Iran - March 2023

Iran’s judiciary confirmed on 13 March that 82,000 prisoners were granted amnesty, including protestors who participated in the latest anti-government demonstrations. In early February, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei agreed to a mass pardon of prisoners on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, granting a request by Iran's judiciary chief. Among the thousands of detainees released this month were 22,000 protestors who had been arrested as part of the government’s violent crackdown against the uprisings calling for regime change. Reports from several human rights organizations indicate that more than 500 Iranians have been killed, over 20,000 arrested and four have been executed since the protests began last September.

Sources: Arab News, Middle East Monitor, Financial Times