Iran Excludes Political Prisoners from Amnesty

Iran’s judiciary spokesperson said on Tuesday that most prisoners, particularly those detained on security charges, were excluded from a recent amnesty.

Asghar Jahangir told reporters that crimes related to “national and foreign security” would not be covered by the amnesty, along with cases involving drugs, arms smuggling, acid attacks, document forgery, and economic disruption.

He said pardons might be possible in some specific cases like kidnapping if victims forgave the perpetrators.

Jahangir acknowledged there was a high probability of errors in reviewing cases and that some eligible prisoners may have been wrongly excluded.

The judiciary spokesperson added that “security prisoners” remain a red line for the judicial system—referring to those targeted in protests and political cases.

The comments came as Iran marked the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody, which sparked nationwide protests.

Thousands were arrested during the demonstrations under the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.

Iranian authorities have periodically announced prisoner amnesties but typically exclude those convicted of security-related offenses.

Rights groups say Iran holds thousands of political prisoners, including many arrested during the 2022 protests.