60,000 prisoners released or their sentences reduced since 40th anniv. of Islamic Rev.

On the 40th anniversary of Islamic Revolution, the Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khamenei agreed to pardon or reduce the sentences of highest number of convicts sentenced by Public Courts and Islamic Revolutionary Courts.

According to the director of Iran's Prisons Organization Asghar Jahangir, since the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which was celebrated on February 20 until the birthday anniversary of Hazrat Fatima, as many as 36,000 prisoners have been released, and sentences of 24,000 others have been reduced under the previously announced decree of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Ayatollah Khamanei routinely pardons prisoners on religious holidays or some other occasions like the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.The tradition is in line with implementing Paragraph 11 of Article 110 of Iran’s Constitution in a bid to reduce the adverse effects of imprisonment on the families of convicts and facilitate the process of the convicts' rehabilitation. The convicts have to meet some conditions in order to be pardoned by the Leader.

According to Jahangir, as many as 539 foreign nationals imprisoned in Iran have also been released since then while the sentences of 265 others have been reduced, 13 of whom were women.

KI/FNA13971207000733