Sadegh Larijani's Response to Request for 'Pardon for Critics': We Have No Political Prisoners

The head of Iran's judiciary claimed that there are no political prisoners in Iran, announcing that 50,000 prisoners will be pardoned on the 40th anniversary of the 1979 revolution. According to ISNA news agency, Sadegh Larijani criticized requests for the pardon to include political prisoners, asserting that 'we currently have no such convicts.' He emphasized, 'We do not have convicts labeled as political prisoners. If someone has committed an act against security, it has an independent criminal title that must be addressed. Political crime is also defined in law and has its own legal processes.' Larijani's statements come despite numerous lists of thousands of political and religious prisoners published during his management and prior. Currently, according to the Iran Prison Atlas, there are about a thousand political prisoners in Iran. In addition to political activists with various orientations and journalists, hundreds of members of religious minorities, including Baha'is, dervishes, and Christian converts, are imprisoned. The Iranian judiciary has also not implemented the political crime law, which was passed two years ago, and political prisoners continue to be tried in revolutionary courts. Iranian officials have previously claimed that there are no political prisoners in Iranian prisons, referring to them as 'security prisoners.' Besides judiciary officials, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also denied the existence of political prisoners, stating that 'no one is imprisoned for their beliefs in Iran.' Judiciary officials have even summoned some members of the Iranian parliament for their statements in the public assembly. Nevertheless, the head of the judiciary claimed that this institution has 'never pursued anyone solely for criticism.' He added, 'Defamation and insult differ from criticism, and the legislator has made this distinction. We explicitly state that criticism is by no means a crime in the Islamic Republic.' Larijani also criticized requests for the pardon of political prisoners and critics, stating, 'Unfortunately, some are souring this sweet pardon, estimated to include nearly 50,000 people, with irrelevant remarks and side issues, politicizing a humanitarian, judicial, and legal action related to the crime and conviction of offenders.' He added, 'The essence of this proposal stems from the compassion and authority of the Islamic Republic, and any other interpretation in this regard is futile and erroneous.' Some members of parliament, including Behrouz Nemati, spokesperson for the parliamentary board, have predicted that the pardon will also include political prisoners. Meanwhile, some reformist political activists have also requested that political prisoners be released in this pardon. However, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, stated that this pardon will not include 'security prisoners.' Several members of parliament also presented a proposal for a 'general pardon' for political prisoners in June, but this proposal has not yet been discussed in the public assembly. In previous years, during religious holidays and occasions, some prisoners were granted pardons. However, these pardons rarely included political prisoners, described by judicial officials as 'security prisoners.' According to judicial officials, in 2016 and 2017, there are currently over 200,000 prisoners in the country's jails, which is three times the capacity of Iran's prisons.