TEHRAN –Since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan (March 11), benefactors have helped release more than 1,100 prisoners of unintentional crimes.

Each year in Ramadan, officials and benefactors hold gatherings to raise money to help free prisoners of involuntary crimes.

More gatherings are scheduled to be held to help release more prisoners by the end of Ramadan, ISNA reported.

On March 16, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, earmarked 20 billion rials (some $40,000) for releasing prisoners of unintentional crimes.

On the occasion of National Father’s Day, which fell on January 25 this year, a total of 534 prisoners of unintentional crimes were freed across the country.

In Iran, Father’s Day falls on the thirteenth day of the lunar calendar month of Rajab, the birthday anniversary of Imam Ali (AS), the first Shia Imam.

In this line, a nationwide campaign, titled ‘In the Name of Father’, was held from January 3 to 24, during which 37 female and 497 male prisoners were released.

The total debt of the released prisoners was 6,665 billion rials (about $13.3 million).

On January 5, with the participation of altruists and benevolent people, a total of 2,548 prisoners of unintentional crimes were released from prisons nationwide, ISNA reported.

In the first six months of the last Iranian year (which began on March 21, 2023), 4224 prisoners of involuntary crimes were released from prison.

Of the total released prisoners, 4,032 were male and 192 were female, IRNA reported.

The debt of the released prisoners was 56 thousand billion rials (about $103 million).

Freeing prisoners of involuntary crimes is done in three ways. The first way is granting prisoners leave and the second way is providing a number of them with loans to be paid inside the prison.

The third way of assistance is the release of unintentional convicts by paying their debt.

The Blood Money Organization was established in 1990. Since then, more than 160,000 prisoners of unintentional crimes who had debts have been freed.

MT/MG