Following months of unrest brought on by Mahsa
Amini's passing, Iran has released a number of well-known detainees in an
apparent effort to placate opposition figures.
The limited amnesty comes as protests have
become less frequent and smaller in scale throughout the winter months since
their crescendo following the death in jail of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian
Kurdish woman, in mid-September.
She committed suicide after being detained for
allegedly breaking the dress code, which requires women to wear modest attire
and hijabs, sparking months of turmoil that Iran has often referred to as
"riots" started by foreigners. Security personnel were among the
hundreds of people killed. Thousands were also detained, and four criminals
were hung.
Many of those detained are thought to still be
in jail, and even those released on bond risk having active legal charges
brought against them.
However, in recent weeks, Iran has released a
number of well-known detainees, a move perceived as an effort to de-escalate
after months of unrest, as street tensions have partly subsided.
On its main page, the reformist newspaper
Etemad featured images of 50 recently freed people. They included activists,
French Iranian researcher Fariba Adelkhah, and filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.