IRNA – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,070 Iranian convicts on the eve of the auspicious occasion of the Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Ghadeer.

Ayatollah Khamenei on Monday agreed to a request by Iran's Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi to pardon or reduce the sentences of 1,070 eligible inmates convicted by courts of common pleas, the Islamic Revolution tribunals, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces and the State Discretionary Punishment Organization.

The pardon comes on the occasion of two Muslim celebrations, namely the Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Ghadeer.

Article 110 of the Iranian Constitution grants the Supreme Leader the right to pardon or reduce the sentences of convicts upon a recommendation from the head of the Judiciary.

The Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), which falls on the 10th day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on the lunar calendar every year, commemorates Prophet Abraham’s acknowledging a divine order upon him to sacrifice his son. Upon submitting to God’s will, Ibrahim was exempted from performing the order and was offered a ram to sacrifice instead. The festival was celebrated in Iran on August 12.

The Eid al-Ghadeer, to be celebrated this year on August 20, marks the appointment of the first Shia Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH), by Islam’s most revered figure, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as his successor.