For protesters pardoned in Iran, freedom comes with no guarantees

For protesters pardoned in Iran, freedom comes with no guarantees

Washington Post-April 24th, 2023

The news arrived last month by text message: Case closed.

After 101 days in jail, 43-year-old Nazanin became one of thousands of anti-government protesters in Iran to be released or have their charges dropped following an amnesty issued by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in February.

But Iran’s judicial system is notoriously opaque and arbitrary, and there are no guarantees of safety for those detained during the uprising, rights groups say. The Washington Post spoke to three Iranians affected by the pardons about their precarious freedom, as the country’s ruling clerics and security services seek to restore order after months of tumult. All shared their stories on the condition of anonymity or asked to withhold personal details, fearing government reprisals

Nazanin, a mother from Tehran, was sentenced to two years in jail this winter for demonstrating — in a hasty trial without a lawyer. She was temporarily out on bail pending her appeal when the news arrived. Her family wept with joy.

She was still worried, though, unsure if she had been pardoned or just had her appeal accepted. Nazanin consulted three lawyers. There was no consensus. Adding to the confusion, many others have had to post bail or sign apology letters to qualify for a pardon, said Rebin Rahmani, a board member of the France-based Human Rights Network of Kurdistan.

It remains unclear exactly who is covered by Khamenei’s amnesty. On April 12, the judiciary said nearly 90,000 Iranians were pardoned but did not specify how many had been accused of protest-related crimes. In March, the judiciary said 22,000 people connected to the protests were pardoned — a figure far higher than the official number of arrests.

“There’s no doubt a large number of people have been released,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. “But you can’t rely on government numbers,” he added, in part because there is often no official confirmation of releases.