Despite Khamenei's amnesty, most protesters in Iran won't go free, advocate says
Iran has jailed up to 20,000 people in months of protests against the regime. The announcement that it's pardoning prisoners is an empty gesture, a human rights lawyer says.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduced sentences for "tens of thousands" of people amid anti-government protests that have continued since September.
Human rights groups estimate that nearly 20,000 people have been jailed since demonstrations broke out over the death of of Mahsa Amini, known by her Kurdish name Jina, while in the custody of the country's morality police.
According to, which has been tracking the crackdown, at least 527 people have been killed in the government's crackdown on protests. The group also says Iran executed four of those detained in hastened trials, which have been condemned internationally.
