The head of Iran’s Judiciary, Golamhosein Mohseni Etzei, announced on Sunday that he had ordered the country’s penitentiary and prosecutors to grant ten-day leave to Christian detainees convicted of misdemeanors. .
The reason for this decision is “to celebrate the new year 2022 and the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ,” said Etzei, according to Mizan, the Iranian judicial news agency.
It was not specified how many detainees were affected by the measure, nor when they would be released.
Mohseni Edgey said the ruling did not apply to those convicted of state security offenses, organized crime, kidnappings, armed robbery, or even death row inmates.
Iranian Christians, mostly Armenians, who celebrate Christmas on January 6, make up just 1% of the country’s population. Most Iranians are Shiite Muslims.
The supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, each year pardons or commits prison sentences on the occasion of major Muslim or national holidays. It is rare, however, to be given thanks to members of the Christian minority. This year, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited the family of an Armenian Christian who was “martyred” on Christmas day during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), the official IRNA news agency reported.
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