Iran pardons, reduces sentences of 2,577 prisoners for Prophet's birth anniversary

TEHRAN, Iran — TEHRAN — Iran's judiciary announced pardons or sentence reductions for 2,577 prisoners on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, covering rulings issued by general, revolutionary, military and state criminal courts. Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei submitted a proposal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recommending clemency or reduced sentences for the prisoners. Khamenei approved the request and delegated the authority back to Ejei to apply it. After reviewing the cases and completing required examinations, Ejei ordered pardons, sentence reductions and conversion of prison terms for the 2,577 inmates. The decision applies to convictions handed down by general courts, revolutionary courts, the Armed Forces Judicial Organization and state criminal courts. The judiciary did not provide details on the eligibility criteria for the clemency or the profile of the prisoners affected. No further information was immediately available on whether additional inmates would be included in the order.