Amnesty International calls for the release of all political and ideological prisoners in Iran
Amnesty International, in a statement issued in response to the news of amnesty for those convicted of "security" crimes with prison sentences of 5 years or less following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran, called for the immediate release of prisoners of conscience from Iranian prisons.
Amnesty International issued this statement on Wednesday, March 19, noting that these prisoners should not have been imprisoned in the first place. It also announced that many of these individuals, including human rights defenders and prisoners arrested during the January and November protests, are among those who have not been released, and that the Islamic Republic authorities are far from releasing all prisoners of conscience.
According to this human rights organization, many of the people whom the Islamic Republic's authorities call prisoners of conscience are in fact the same people who have been arrested and convicted for political reasons.
Amnesty International also called on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, noting that no one should be detained or forced to endure even a day in prison for peacefully exercising their human rights.
On Wednesday, March 27, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary, issued a new circular ordering limited leave 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.
On the other hand, the spokesman for the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced on Tuesday, March 17, that the Judiciary has sent "more than 50 percent of security prisoners" on leave with the directive of the head of the Judiciary, while some political and security prisoners in various prisons in Iran have been on a hunger strike since Monday, March 16, due to the authorities' refusal to grant them temporary release or leave.
The United States has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the violent confrontations and widespread repression of protesters and civil activists, as well as the repeated and persistent violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the ruling regime in that country.
Source: Voice of America
