In effort to reduce global scrutiny, Islamic authorities free 139 Iranians on death row

The Islamic Republic of Iran has declared an amnesty for 139 people previously facing execution, as part of a broader effort to lessen international and internal strain while attempting to project an image of legitimacy, analysts informed The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

The 139 individuals received pardons from the regime's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, together with nearly 2,000 additional prisoners, in advance of the Shia religious observance Eid al-Ghadir.

The Iranian Student News Agency reported that those convicted of security-related crimes, espionage, actions against national security inside or outside Iran, and offenses endangering public safety were excluded from the amnesty.

Iran's police chief Ahmadreza Radan stated last month that security forces had detained more than 6,500 people suspected of espionage since the conflict began on February 28. Numerous participants in the January economic demonstrations and the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom protests were also convicted on national security grounds and would therefore probably remain ineligible.

IRGC issues clemency for lesser violations to calm public sentiment

Menahem Merhavi, a fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Post that the pardons arrive at a moment when renewed unrest appears possible.

Students have started protests on campuses in recent weeks, Iran's economy has continued to weaken since January, and authorities are very concerned the situation could escalate once any agreement is concluded and its negative effects on Iran become clear.

On the domestic front, the regime faces a serious legitimacy deficit and is attempting to address it by improving its image at home, Merhavi noted.

Internationally, the regime's execution surge and widespread human rights abuses have drawn sharp criticism. Some European Parliament members called for military action in January following the deaths of many demonstrators, while the EU Parliament barred Iranian diplomats from its facilities and added the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to its terrorism list.

Two independent organizations documented that the regime carried out the largest number of executions since 1989, with estimates reaching approximately 1,639 individuals last year alone, according to reports from Norway-based Iran Human Rights and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty.

Amnesty International reported last month that authorities were exploiting wartime conditions to suppress the civilian population, stifle opposition, and target those who fail to conform immediately.

To preserve their hold on power, officials have launched a broad campaign against the Iranian people, focusing on anyone who criticizes the Islamic Republic, shares details about US or Israeli strikes or rights violations abroad, or tries to circumvent the longest recorded internet blackout to contact family or obtain independent news, said Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director of Research, Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

Reasons behind the current pardons

Although the regime has suffered major reputational damage, worsened by unprovoked strikes on its Gulf neighbors, Merhavi indicated the amnesties form part of an effort to improve its public image.

For Ben Sabti, an Iran specialist and researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, the step amounts to little more than propaganda, echoing the calculated gestures of Khamenei's father and predecessor.

Sabti observed that the regime has not released the names of those freed or specified their offenses, suggesting the beneficiaries were likely individuals guilty of minor economic violations who would not have been jailed in a democratic system. Without disclosure of identities, the accuracy of official claims remains uncertain, he added.

Khamenei seeks to portray himself as benevolent and the system as compassionate, Sabti explained. They release several hundred people at every holiday and festival, giving outsiders the impression of a kind, democratic, and merciful government, but they are in fact holding hostages. They detain the individual and later release him to appear generous.

Rebin Rahmani, director of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, told the Post that such amnesties in Iran are frequently declared on major religious dates and have historically benefited prisoners convicted of ordinary crimes rather than political offenses. Because exclusions are based on offense type rather than ethnicity or religion, the policy itself does not primarily aim to create ethnic or religious divisions, he noted.

Rahmani added that the key distinction remains between ordinary criminal cases and those labeled political or similar. Consequently, individuals convicted of common crimes usually receive the main benefit, while those facing political charges are typically excluded.