Directive of the Head of the Judiciary on the conditions of the 1404 (2025) standardized amnesty

At the proposal of the Head of the Judiciary, the list of the 1404 standardized amnesty on the occasion of the birth of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (pbuh) was presented to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

With his approval, a large number of convicts from the public and revolutionary courts, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, and the Governmental Discretionary Punishments Organization—as well as a number of security-related convicts who in previous rounds were usually not eligible for amnesty—will, under two conditions, benefit from the pardon.

According to Mozaffari, Deputy for Judicial Affairs of the Judiciary, in this round, a standardized amnesty was proposed and considered, encompassing a large number of convicts and offenders.

The full text of the directive by Mohseni Ejei, Head of the Judiciary, regarding the conditions for pardon and commutation of sentences, is as follows:

To the Blessed Presence of Grand Ayatollah Imam Khamenei (May His Eminence Live Long), The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution

With greetings and salutations,

Respectfully, while congratulating on the blessed birth anniversaries of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (pbuh), and in implementation of Clause 11 of Article 110 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and with the aim of reducing the adverse effects of imprisonment, facilitating the re-socialization of prisoners, assisting their families, and allowing inmates to benefit from Islamic clemency, hereby the conditions and criteria of the amnesty are submitted to Your Excellency.

Should Your Excellency approve, those convicted by the public and revolutionary courts, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, and the Governmental Discretionary Punishments Organization, whose sentences become final up to 19 Shahrivar 1404 (September 9, 2025), and who meet the following criteria, shall benefit from pardon or commutation of their sentence and enjoy Islamic mercy:

A – Convictions in security-related cases up to 5 years’ imprisonment;

If more than 5 years have passed since the finalization of their verdict and for certain reasons it has not yet been executed; provided that since the issuance of the final verdict they have not engaged in any positions against the interests of the country or any anti-security activities, and that during the recent imposed war [referring to the Gaza war] whether residing abroad or inside the country, they have undertaken actions in opposition to the enemies and in alignment with internal solidarity, and have refrained from opposition activities.

Note: The verification of the above conditions shall be the responsibility of the prosecutor executing the sentence or the head of the relevant prosecution office, and when required, based on inquiries from the national intelligence authorities.

B – Convicts serving prison sentences who are currently incarcerated:

1.     Two-thirds of the remaining sentence for convicts sentenced up to 2 years’ imprisonment, provided they have served at least 3 months.

2.     Three-fifths of the remaining sentence for convicts sentenced to more than 2 up to 5 years’ imprisonment.

3.     Two-fifths of the remaining sentence for convicts sentenced to more than 5 up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

4.     One-fifth of the remaining sentence for convicts sentenced to more than 10 up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

5.     One-sixth of the remaining sentence for convicts sentenced to more than 20 up to 25 years, provided they have served 2 years by 19 Shahrivar 1404 (September 9, 2025).

6.     The remaining imprisonment for those sentenced to discretionary punishments of the first degree, conditional upon serving at least 12 years for men and 9 years for women by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

7.     The remaining imprisonment for all convicts of unintentional crimes.

8.     Two-fifths of the remaining sentence for women sentenced to less than 20 years’ imprisonment who, by law, have custody or guardianship of their children.

9.     Three-fifths of the remaining sentence for war veterans (isargaran) and family members of martyrs (parents, spouses, children, brothers, sisters) for sentences up to 10 years, and two-fifths of the remaining sentence for those with more than 10 years by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

Note: Individuals included in this category must present the required certification from relevant authorities, and definitions of war veterans follow applicable laws and regulations.

10. The remaining imprisonment for prisoners suffering from terminal or incurable diseases, provided their illness is confirmed by the Legal Medicine Organization’s medical commission. (Court measures pursuant to Articles 502 and 522 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall not prevent the application of this amnesty.)

11. The remaining imprisonment of male convicts above 70 years old and female convicts above 60 years old (based on official documents, and for foreign nationals lacking valid documents based on confirmation from Legal Medicine), provided they have been sentenced up to 20 years and served at least one-fifth of their sentence, or if sentenced to more than 20 years, they must have served at least 8 years by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

12. The remaining imprisonment or fine sentences of foreign nationals convicted solely of illegal entry or residence, provided they have served at least one-fifth of their sentence.

13. The remaining sentence of convicts who were under 18 years old at the time of committing the offense (based on official documents, and for foreign nationals lacking valid documents, confirmation from provincial branches of the Legal Medicine Organization is required).

C – Fines:

1.     Convicts serving imprisonment due to inability to pay fines up to 1 billion Rials.

2.     Remaining fines from 1 billion to 5 billion Rials, provided they have served at least 3 months due to inability to pay by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

3.     Remaining fines from 5 billion to 10 billion Rials, provided they have served at least 6 months due to inability to pay by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

4.     Remaining fines over 10 billion Rials, provided they have served at least one year due to inability to pay by 19 Shahrivar 1404.

Note: Convicts whose imprisonment for fines is included in this amnesty shall have their final fine sentence also covered under this section of the directive.

D – Reduction of one degree in punishment for convicts sentenced to death who have no previous similar criminal record, with exceptions as provided in section G.

E – All convicts sentenced to discretionary lashes.

F – Conditions for using the amnesty:

1.     No more than one previous final criminal conviction up to degree six.

2.     No commission of a new intentional crime punishable by first to sixth degree while serving the sentence or during granted leave.

3.     No private claimant or complainant, or obtaining their consent, or compensating for damage and loss, or arranging payment of damages to the private claimant and the aggrieved party, whether individuals or private legal entities, by the end of Azar 1404.

Note: Participation in crimes, except for intentional murder, does not require obtaining the consent of a private claimant and does not prevent the application of amnesty.

G – Offenders excluded from this amnesty:

1.     Armed robbery or robbery with intimidation, or robbers with prior criminal convictions.

2.     Drug-related offenses in armed form or major trafficking (major trafficking refers to over 100 kg of traditional narcotics under Article 4 of the Anti-Narcotics Law and its annexes, or over 2 kg of industrial narcotics under Article 8 and its annexes).

3.     Purchase, sale, distribution, and trafficking of firearms and ammunition.

4.     Crimes against internal or external security of degree 3 or higher.

Note: Spying, cooperation with hostile states or the usurping Zionist regime, membership in illegal and terrorist groups, incitement to war and killing, disclosure of military documents and information of any degree are excluded from this amnesty.

5.     Convicts insisting on their crimes while in prison or committing new crimes in prison.

6.     Kidnapping, unless the private claimant forgives or if the sentence exceeds 5 years.

7.     Acid attacks.

8.     Establishing centers of corruption and vice.

9.     Embezzlement and bribery, unless repayment of the stolen property and fines is completed by the end of Mehr 1404 (October 20, 2025).

10. Fraud, if the private claimant’s consent is not obtained or property is not returned.

11. Counterfeiting banknotes and minting fake coins.

12. Directing, participating, or assisting in major disruption of the economic system, unless the property is returned and proceeds from the crime are paid within six months from 19 Shahrivar 1404.

13. Alcohol trafficking under paragraph (T) of Article 22 of the Law on Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency.

14. Crimes punishable by Had (fixed) punishments.