Supreme Leader pardons prisoners on auspicious occasions

Tehran, Oct 3, IRNA – Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei pardoned or commuted prison terms of 630 of convicts sentenced by the public, revolutionary and military courts. The amnesty was made at the request of the Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani and was accepted by the Supreme Leader on the auspicious occasions of al-Adha and Ghadir-e Khom. Ghadir-e Khom is the valley on neighborhood of holy Mecca where Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) told his companions on his last Hajj pilgrimage 'To Whom I'm Lord, Ali is Lord', introducing Imam Ali (AS) as his successor. Clause 11 of Article 110 of the Constitution envisaged the mandate for the Supreme Leader to pardon prisoners. The Amnesty does not apply to all convicts, especially those who have been sentenced for their role in armed struggle against the Islamic Republic, armed robbery or organized crime, drug-trafficking, rape, arms smuggling, abduction, bribery and embezzlement.