Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje'i, Iran's judicial head, said on Monday that the country had decided to pardon 22,000 people who were arrested during widespread anti-regime protests, according to the country's state-run media IRNA.

"So far 82,000 people have been pardoned, including 22,000 people who participated in protests," Eje'i stated.

He did not disclose details of the period for which the protesters had been pardoned, or whether or not the protesters had actually been charged with an offense.

The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming Iranian celebration of Nowruz or Persian New Year to be held next week.

The state media had previously hinted at the pardon by the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Higher numbers than accounted for

The Islamic regime, in February, admitted to detaining "tens of thousands" for taking part in the country-wide protests that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody last September.

However, Eje'i's statement means that the figures are higher than the estimates of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been following the crackdown.

According to the Associated Press, the activists' group had previously evaluated the number to be more than 19,700.

aa/rc (Reuters, ape)