Rouhani’s Acknowledgement That 100 out of 120 Prisoners Are Infected With COVID-19 Shows How Deplorable Iran’s Prisons Are
Written by
Shamsi Saadati
The lives of political prisoners in Iranian prisons are in danger due to the outbreak of coronavirus
The Iranian regime’s president, Hassan Rouhani, on Saturday, after months of cover-up and downplaying the coronavirus crisis in Iran, acknowledged the extent of this crisis in Iranian prisons.
“In one of the prisons, one infected person entered the prison, and before they could find out, 100 people out of 120 tested positive for the Coronavirus,” he said.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, the Iranian regime’s officials, particularly Rouhani, have tried to downplay the extent of this crisis, which has, according to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), so far claimed the lives of over 40,500 people.
The Iranian regime’s general response to the coronavirus outbreak was disastrous. But its approach toward prisoners has resulted in massive infection of inmates and their death. Instead of releasing prisoners, the regime has been arresting political opponents and those who speak the truth about the coronavirus under the pretext of “rumor mongering.” The recent arrest of two elite students confirms this fact that the mullahs are not willing to save the lives of the Iranian people, particularly prisoners.
The regime’s mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak across prisons and lack of hygienic facilities has resulted in dozens of prison riots across Iran. On the eve of the Persian New Year, the regime claimed to have temporarily released tens of thousands of prisoners. The prison riots in various cities across the country and the recent arrests of their political opponents undermined the regime’s claims and indicated that the assertion was a deceptive act and the prisoners, especially political prisoners, are still in prisons in extremely dangerous conditions.
Yet, instead of helping them, the regime responded to the prisoner’s demands with bullets. Those inmates who were rearrested were quickly executed. The regime increased its security measures in prisons.
For days, the regime denied the existence of this virus in Iran to increase its sham parliamentary elections’ turnout that failed due to the people’s general boycott. Documents revealed by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which belong to Iran’s National Emergency Organization, show the regime’s officials were aware of the spread of COVID-19 in January. Even after acknowledging the existence of the coronavirus, the regime refused to issue a quarantine for weeks, and when it did, it was too late and did not last very long. Since this so-called quarantining period was not accompanied by government support for the people, more people, that mostly have been grappling with poverty due to the regime’s institutionalized corruption and wrong economic policies, joined the army of hungries. This could have possibly led to a nationwide uprising and rebellion. So, the regime ordered people back to work to avoid this uprising for the time being and saving its economy at the cost of people’s lives.
As Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI’s President-elect has said the international community, the UN Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council, and the UN special rapporteurs should immediately intervene to stop the executions, secure the prisoners’ release and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Iran’s prisons.
Maryam Rajavi
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@Maryam_Rajavi
· 21 Apr 2020
A rebellious prisoner in #Saqqez, who was 17 at the time of arrest, was hanged this morning by the mullahs’ criminal regime. #Iran
Maryam Rajavi
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@Maryam_Rajavi
I urge the international community, the UN Secretary General, the #HumanRights High Commissioner and Council, & the UN rapporteurs to immediately intervene to stop the executions, securing the prisoners’ release and preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in #Iran’s prisons.
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16:37 – 21 Apr 2020
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