Iran on Monday announced an amnesty it said would affect some 50,000 people to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the United States-backed Shah.
“Around 50,000 prisoners will either be released or see their sentences reduced,’’ Sadeq Larijani, the head of the judiciary, said.
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According to official figures, almost 250,000 people are incarcerated in Iran.
However, Larijani did not specify whether the amnesty would also apply to political prisoners.
The festivities to mark Islamic Revolution start every year on February 1, the day that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to become supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.
They end on February 11, the day that the outgoing government collapsed. (NAN)
