TEHRAN -- Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has pardoned or commuted the sentences of 388 Iranians convicted by the State Discretionary Punishment Organization.
The official in charge of monitoring law enforcement at the State Discretionary Punishment Organization, Alireza Nournejad, said Sunday that the Leader agreed to suspend or mitigate the sentence of a total of 5,165 people on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, and the beginning of the National Judiciary Week.
They had been found guilty in courts of common pleas and Islamic Revolution tribunals, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces and the State Discretionary Punishment Organization.
Nournejad said 388 convicts of the State Discretionary Punishment Organization were among those granted clemency by Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Leader regularly issues such orders on various celebratory occasions.
Article 110 of the Constitution grants the Leader the right to pardon or reduce the sentences of convicts upon a recommendation from the head of the Judiciary.
The clemency, however, does not apply to all types of convicts, including those who have been sentenced for their role in armed struggle against the country, armed or organized drug trafficking, rape, armed robbery, arms smuggling, abduction, bribery and embezzlement.