Human rights media report the deaths of several prisoners in Greater Tehran Prison and Urmia Prison due to coronavirus infection.
In recent days, at least 9 prisoners in Greater Tehran and Urmia prisons have died after contracting the coronavirus.
According to news published by human rights media, as of Wednesday, April 26, at least three prisoners in Urmia Central Prison and six other prisoners in Greater Tehran Prison have died after contracting the coronavirus.
The Telegram channel of the Free Union of Iranian Workers announced on Thursday, citing an informed source, that the current sanitary conditions of the wards of Greater Tehran Prison are reported to be inadequate, with the only sanitary equipment in the prison being dishwashing liquid, and the prisoners living in inadequate mental and physical conditions.
According to this report, despite the outbreak of the virus in the Greater Tehran Prison and the death of 6 prisoners, the prison authorities have not yet announced the exact number of people infected with the virus and have remained silent.
The Hengaw Human Rights Network also announced in another report that on Wednesday, April 26, a prisoner from the women's ward of Urmia Central Prison, whose identity has not been announced yet, and two other prisoners, Hossein Javadi and Fariq Mohammadi, lost their lives in the past few days after contracting the virus.
It should be noted that VOA cannot independently confirm the information published regarding the number of deaths due to coronavirus in Iranian prisons.
The release of some prisoners began on Wednesday, March 27, with the issuance of a new circular by Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The circular, based on which a limited leave order has been issued for a group of prisoners sentenced to imprisonment, subject to certain conditions; one of the provisions of the circular states that those political prisoners who have been sentenced to more than 5 years in prison on charges of "acting against national security" "are exempt from being sent on leave." This is despite the fact that most political prisoners on the charges have sentences of more than 5 years.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a press conference on Wednesday, April 26: "We have asked not only Syria, but also the Islamic Republic of Iran to release not only American citizens, but all those who have been unjustly imprisoned in these circumstances. This is a humanitarian act, and apart from the fact that these people have been illegally imprisoned, in these circumstances the principle of humanitarianism dictates that they be released from prison."
However, a large number of prisoners in various Iranian prisons, including political and ideological prisoners whose sentences exceed 5 years, are still being held in Iranian prisons.
Source: Voice of America
