Former Iranian Minister of Education and Tehran Mayor Mohammed Ali Najafi was released after four years in prison, following clemency from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to release thousands of prisoners last month.
In 2019, Najafi admitted to killing his wife, Mitra Ostad, after a family dispute.
He was initially sentenced to death after a court concluded it was premeditated murder. However, the victim’s family forgave him, and he was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on charges of murder and possession of an unlicensed weapon.
The government's Mehr agency reported that Najafi submitted a request for a pardon a few months ago, and the letter was sent to the Amnesty and Tolerance Commission.
His case was considered among others submitted by prisoners who applied for a pardon.
Najafi is a reformist politician Iran and among the most prominent pragmatic officials. He held many official positions over the decades, including the minister of education and the minister of science.
Iranian media reported that Khamenei has pardoned more than 80,000 prisoners on the anniversary of the Iranian revolution. The authorities also released 22,000 persons arrested during the protests that rocked the country in mid-September.
