Iran Grants 3-Day Amnesty to Protesters Who Were Deceived

Iran’s national police chief said Monday that people who were “deceived” into joining⁤ weeks-long protests deemed “riots” by Iranian authorities would receive lighter punishment if they turned themselves in within three⁤ days.

“Young people who became unwittingly involved in the‍ riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers” and “will be treated with leniency by the Islamic Republic system,” Ahmad-Reza‍ Radan said on iranian state television, adding that such individuals‍ had “a maximum⁣ of three days” to surrender.

Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to Iran‘s hardline Islamic rulers in years, tho they subsided after a brutal crackdown that sources tell CBS News⁤ saw between 12,000 ⁤and 20,000 people killed.

Security officials cited by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is associated with the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps, said late last week that around 3,000 people⁢ had been ‍arrested in ⁣connection with the demonstrations. Rights groups say the number is likely closer to 20,000.

Iranian officials say the demonstrations were peaceful ⁢before turning into “