Request to World Health Organization: Iran Must Release Political Prisoners

A group of political and civil activists both inside and outside Iran have called on human rights organizations and the World Health Organization to secure the release of political prisoners in Iran in a letter addressed to these bodies.

The authors of this letter, referring to official statements by Iranian Islamic Republic officials about granting temporary furloughs to 85,000 prisoners ahead of Nowruz and confirming the release of half of security prisoners, wrote: “In reality, however, the release of fewer than twenty political prisoners has been reported, most of which have been granted on condition of heavy bail payments. Moreover, the arrest of civil and political activists has continued even under these critical circumstances.”

Following the spread of coronavirus in Iran, families of political prisoners expressed concern about their detention conditions in prisons and the possibility of infection in closed and contaminated environments, and called for the release of their children and relatives. The head of the judiciary also issued a circular stating that some security prisoners whose sentences are less than five years can be granted furlough at the discretion of the case officer. Although it was announced that 70,000 prisoners have been released according to this circular, the number of political prisoners among them is negligible.

The signatories of this letter have pointed to recognized prisoners who have never been granted furlough so far; people such as Zeinab Jalalian, a Kurdish political activist, and Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist.

The activists who authored this letter have referred to hunger strikes by some political prisoners in protest of this very issue; among these prisoners are Nasrin Sotoudeh, Soheil Arabi, and several others.

The letter quotes Soheil Arabi, one of the prisoners of the November protests at Fashafuyeh Prison: “While a large number of embezzlers, thieves, and others are free, we who have committed no illegal or unlawful act except protesting against corruption, ineffective policies, and harsh economic conditions, are deliberately kept imprisoned so that we are buried alive with the coronavirus.”

At the end, the signatories of this letter have asked human rights organizations and the World Health Organization to urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to “as soon as possible implement at least temporary release of all political-ideological prisoners.”

The authors of this letter have considered the provision of health and physical security for all prisoners, whether political or non-political, as a legal responsibility of every government.

Azam Khatam, Ahmad Karimi Hakkak, Aleh Amani, Ehteram Shadfar, Bijan Pirzadeh, Farzaneh Milani, Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Nahid Mirhaj, Nahid Tosli, Nahid Mote’e, Nireh Tohidi, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, Mansoureh Shojaii, Kazem Alamdari, and Farhad Khosrokhavar are among the signatories of this letter.

Source: DW