Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 11
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has pardoned 1059 convicts on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Republic.
At the request of the head of Iran's judiciary Sadiq Amoli Larijani, Khamenei agreed to declare an amnesty to pardon or reduce the sentences of 1059 convicts who were pronounced guilty in various Iranian courts including military, civil and revolutionary ones, ILNA news agency reported.
According to the country's Constitution the supreme leader has the right to pardon or reduce the sentences of convicts upon the recommendation of the judiciary chief.
On Feb. 11, the Islamic Republic celebrates the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 when the revolution leader Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran after almost 15 years of exile and took the control of the country after toppling the Pahlavi monarchy.
Each year on Feb. 11, a large number of Iranians take to streets carrying banners and images of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, as well as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, to re-affirm their allegiance to the Islamic Revolution.