Letter from Fashafoyeh prisoners to Tehran prosecutor: Coronavirus has spread in prison

60 political prisoners and those convicted of the November 2019 protests in the Greater Tehran Prison, Fashafoyeh, expressed concern in a letter addressed to the Tehran Prosecutor regarding the spread of the coronavirus in some halls of the prison and demanded the presence of an assistant prosecutor overseeing the prisons.

According to a report by the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners on Sunday, September 29, these individuals, referring to the directive of the head of the judiciary to issue emergency leave permits to prisoners due to the risk of the coronavirus, said that their families' efforts to obtain leave have been fruitless.

The protests of November last year, sparked by the increase in gasoline prices, led to a bloody crackdown on protesters by Iranian security and law enforcement forces, with some reports indicating the arrest of seven thousand protesters.

Previously, the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners reported that more than 300 prisoners from the November 2019 protests were in Fashafoyeh Prison.

Political prisoners and those convicted of the November protests wrote a letter to Tehran Prosecutor Ali Al-Qasi Mehr, referring to the spread of the coronavirus in some of the halls of Brigade 5 of Greater Tehran Prison and the continuous and fruitless follow-ups by the prisoners' families, demanding the presence of Amin Vaziri, the deputy prosecutor overseeing the prison, in Brigade 5 of the prison.

In recent weeks, many reports have been published about the spread of coronavirus in Iranian prisons, especially in the political and civil convicts' section.

These prisoners say that they have requested Mr. Waziri's presence in prison through various means, but so far no action has been taken on this request.

The letter further addresses Mr. Al-Qasi Mehr, stating that following the instructions of the head of the judiciary to issue emergency leave permits to prisoners due to the threat of Corona, their families have made repeated requests to the assistant prosecutor stationed at the Evin Security Prosecutor's Office to follow up on this issue, but have either not been able to meet with him or have not received a clear response.

On August 1, Amnesty International published some correspondence between the Iranian Prisons Organization and Ministry of Health officials, revealing that the government of the Islamic Republic has failed to send medical equipment and supplies to the country's prisons to contain the coronavirus.

In recent months, numerous calls have been made by international human rights organizations for the release of political prisoners during the coronavirus outbreak, which have been largely ignored by the Iranian judiciary.

On August 10, the website of the Free Workers Union announced that 12 political prisoners in Evin Prison had contracted the coronavirus, including Jafar Azimzadeh, secretary of the board of directors of the Free Workers Union, Esmaeil Abdi, a member of the Teachers' Union, Amir Salar Davari, a lawyer, Majid Azarpay, and Mohammad Davoudi.

The Iranian Prisons Atlas website also reported on August 11 that following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Evin Prison, a number of political prisoners in Ward 8 of Evin Prison staged a sit-in in the prison yard.

Also, Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist who is serving a sentence in Zanjan Prison on charges of "propaganda against the regime," announced that she and 11 other inmates had contracted the coronavirus.

Source: Radio Farda