Iran Frees 85,000 Prisoners to Combat Coronavirus Infection Spread
Iranian regime grants 'temporary' release to thousands of convicts
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Iran has freed 85,000 prisoners from the country's jails in the latest effort to combat the spread of infection from the coronavirus, an Iranian regime official has confirmed.
The Iranian judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, revealed in a statement that "some 50% of those released are security-related prisoners...
"Also in the jails, we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak," Esmaili added.
Among the inmates released in the move are political prisoners.
Last week, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, pressed Tehran to temporarily free all political prisoners from its disease-ridden, overcrowded jails.
The request seeks help to stem the spiraling spread of coronavirus in the Islamic Republic.
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So far, the number of dead from the coronavirus has reached 853 in Iran, where a total of 14,991 people have been confirmed infected.
Iran has one of the worst national outbreaks outside China, where the disease originated from.
Mr. Esmaili did not elaborate on when those released would have to return to jail, according to Sky News.
Rehman said earlier in March that Iranian prisoners have been infected with the coronavirus.
Many Iranians have ignored calls by the health authorities to stay at home, but the country's holy Shia Muslim sites and shrines in Tehran and Qom have been closed.
Officials in the country have blamed US sanctions for hampering their efforts to fight coronavirus.
Tehran has called on other countries to back its call for the lifting of US sanctions.
Iran said last week it had asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for $5bn in emergency funding to combat the outbreak.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a rival of Iran, has put aside differences to lend support by sending two planes carrying 32 tonnes of medical supplies, including gloves and surgical masks.
Iran's clerical rulers have rejected locking down cities despite the rising death toll and the rate of new cases.
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Other countries in the Middle East have imposed strict measures such as closing their borders and suspending flights.
Kuwait's health ministry on Tuesday reported seven new cases, all among Kuwaitis who had been to Britain, taking the country's total to 130.
Bahrain reported the Arab Gulf region's first death from the disease on Monday as the number of infections in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council crossed 1,000.
Oman, which lies across the Gulf from Iran, said anyone entering the sultanate as of Tuesday would be quarantined.
It had earlier imposed restrictions on entry to allow only Gulf Arab citizens.
