85,000 Prisoners In Iran Were Freed For Fear They Might Have COVID-19

A judiciary spokesman of Iran said on Tuesday that the Iranian government has freed more than 85,000 prisoners in a bid to stop the COVID-19 outbreak.

Iran is one of the countries besides China that suffer the most from the Coronavirus, with 988 d.e.a.t.h.s and 16,169 confirmed cases.

Gholamhossein Esmaili, the spokesperson in question said that prisons have also taken preventative measures to fight off the outbreak.

Esmaili also confirmed that half of those who have been released are political prisoners. However, he said nothing about whether they must return to prison after the outbreak is under control.

On March 9, Iran announced that it would free 70,000 prisoners in response to COVID-19 outbreak but none of them were political inmates.

According to Javaid Rehman, U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights, he has asked the Iranian government to release political prisoners from the disease-ridden and over-crowded prisons to stop the outbreak.

Rehman said that only those whose sentences were fewer than five years were released. Those who participated in anti-government activities or have heavier sentences will remain in prison.

Before the release on March 9, Iranian government said that around 189,500 people are serving time in its prisons, including hundreds of those arrested during the anti-government protests took place last November.

Iran has rejected locking down its cities but it has advised people not to travel before March 20, the day of the Iranian New Year.

Despite the large number of deaths from COVID-19, several Iranians have gone against the government’s advice of staying home. A health official said on state television that people should not go out as New Year was like committing suicide.

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