Iran has pardoned or reduced the sentences of 81 people convicted in connection with protests over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June 12 re-election. Wednesday's announcement of the pardons coincided with a request to the government from opposition groups for permission to hold demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the disputed vote. The opposition alleges Ahmadinejad's victory was the result of fraud. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed to the pardons and cuts in sentences on the recommendation of the judiciary chief, according to Khamenei's website. Such actions are traditional to mark a religious or national celebration, in this case Thursday's anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatima. 'Some of them were immediately released last night after the supreme leader's pardon,' Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi was cited as saying by the state-run Fars news agency Thursday. Last year's protests began with calls for a ballot recount, and subsequent demands have ranged from an end to the security forces' use of violence against protesters to changes in Iran's religion-based political system. About 5,000 people have been arrested, with many later released, and 44 people have died, Iranian authorities say. At least 10 have been sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the unrest. Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, the main challengers in the election, wrote to the governor of the Tehran province asking for permission to hold a joint rally on the anniversary of the vote. Eight political groups followed with their own request to the central government to organize a June 12 gathering, according to Parleman News, the website of an opposition faction in the parliament. The government hasn't authorized any of the demonstrations by the opposition since the election. Only pro-government rallies have been permitted. Ex-Prime Minister Mousavi and former parliament Speaker Karrubi both say the vote was rigged, a claim rejected by Ahmadinejad and Khamenei. Khamenei will lead Friday prayers in Tehran, the biggest in the Persian Gulf country, preceded by an address by Ahmadinejad. Khamenei, who has led the prayers mainly for special events, spoke at the first Friday prayers after the election, warning of a crackdown on demonstrators and backing Ahmadinejad as president. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad's participation will mark the anniversary of the death of the Shiite Muslim-led state's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. 