ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has granted pardon to nearly 140 prisoners, semi-official Iranian media reported on Saturday, noting that the decision does not include convicts charged with certain crimes, including activities deemed by authorities as security-related offenses against the state.
Citing Asghar Jahangir, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson, Mehr News Agency said that the pardoned individuals "had no private complainants and no history of security crimes."
He added that, "They met the conditions for pardoning due to their improved behavior, expressed remorse, and went through reform processes in prison."
However, the pardon excludes "those who have been sentenced for their role in the armed struggle against the country, armed or organized drug trafficking, arms smuggling, abduction, bribery, and embezzlement."
Iranian authorities have accelerated trials involving politically motivated charges, handing down death sentences, life imprisonment, and property confiscation orders against suspected dissidents.
From March through Saturday, at least 167 prisoners have been executed in Iran, according to data documented by the Norway-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. The figure includes eight Kurdish political prisoners who were hanged on Wednesday.
The surge in executions is largely attributed to the security crisis that followed February 28, when the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran, killing more than three dozen senior Iranian officials and targeting at least 17,000 sites across the country.
The conflict paused after Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire in early April, though uncertainty remains over the prospects for a lasting peace between the two adversaries.
During and after the conflict, Iran arrested thousands of people on charges including espionage and "spying for the enemy."
