Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "
has agreed to pardon and reduce the sentences of a significant number of defendants in connection with recent incidents or who have been convicted
" in other cases, said a statement published on Khamenei's website.
Thousands of people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the protest movement sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd.
The press release does not specify the number of people affected by this measure announced on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in February 1979. "
Tens of thousands
" of detainees are likely to benefit from it, according to media .
Read alsoProtest in Iran: a journalist arrested, another sentenced
Ayatollah Khamenei regularly grants collective pardons during major religious or national holidays, in accordance with justice.
Excluded from the amnesty are "
accused of espionage, murder and intentional injury, destruction and arson against government, military and public installations
", according to the press release.
For its part, the judicial authority announced on its Mizan Online site that individuals arrested in connection with the protest movement will only be released if they sign a "
declaration of remorse and a written undertaking not to repeat a similar intentional crime
". ".