Iran’s Judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’I, says nearly 40,000 prisoners in Iran have been granted amnesty in a one-year period.

“Last year, 39,791 inmates were granted amnesty. The number was not limited to those who were serving their jail sentence. It also included some inmates whose jail sentence were halved as well as those whose lash sentences were pardoned,” he noted.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson also noted that the number of prison furlough grew by 24.5 percent during the last year.

“Meanwhile, 15,757 inmates left the jails on conditional release. We also had a significant growth in our training courses,” he said.

Mohseni-Eje’i said about 290 Quran classes have been established in jails across Iran and added the prisons’ officials held 829 competitions on Quran’s teachings throughout last year.

“383 large and small libraries have already been established in our jails,” he concluded.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to the introduction of recent amendments to Iran’s court proceedings, and said the country is now witnessing some positive changes in the judicial system thanks to the changes.

The spokesperson also said the amendments have provided the judiciary with a legal right to pronounce alternative sentences for some crimes.

He went on saying that late last year the judiciary began to test the electronic handcuffs and shackles. Mohseni-Eje’i expressed hope the electronic tools could be used for inmates in future.