Iran acknowledges ‘tens of thousands’ detained in protests

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader reportedly has ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for “tens of thousands” of people detained amid the nationwide protests shaking the country. The decision Sunday for the first time acknowledges the scale of the crackdown. The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. However, there’s no information about who received the reported relief. More than 19,600 have been arrested during the protests. That’s according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that’s been tracking the crackdown. At least 527 people have been killed.