The president of Iran’s judiciary granted Christian prisoners 10 days of freedom to spend the holidays with their families on Sunday, in a rare move towards the minority community.
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei instructed authorities across the country to issue the waiver, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website.
“The decision is to mark the New Year 2022 and the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ,” the website said.
Mizan Online did not say how many Christian prisoners will benefit from the license or when the 10-day period begins.
However, he said inmates convicted of violating security, organized crime, kidnapping, armed robbery and those sentenced to death would be exempt.
Read Also: Gov. Umahi Appeals to APC to Give 2023 Presidency to Southeast
According to local media, Christians make up just one percent of Iran’s total population of 83 million, the majority of whom are Shiite Muslims.
Most of the Christians in Iran are Armenians who celebrate Christmas on January 6, the day of Epiphany.
At that time of year, some shops in Tehran and major cities put up decorations, including Christmas trees, while people dressed as Santa Claus stand in front of the shops Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei often grants prisoners amnesty or reduces their sentences to mark Muslim holidays.
But it is rare for the Iranian authorities to announce such measures in relation to members of the Christian minority in the Islamic republic.
This year, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited the Tehran home of the family of an Armenian Christian “martyr” who died in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war on Christmas Eve, the official IRNA news agency reported
