{"id":216824,"date":"2020-04-20T14:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=216824"},"modified":"2023-01-23T15:48:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T14:48:40","slug":"irans-regime-approach-toward-prisoners-amid-coronavirus-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/irans-regime-approach-toward-prisoners-amid-coronavirus-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Regime Approach Toward Prisoners Amid Coronavirus Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of the Iranian regime’s prison in Tehran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The name of another prisoner killed by the\u00a0<\/span>Iranian\u00a0<\/span>regime\u2019s security forces during\u00a0<\/span>riots in Ahvaz prisons has been identified. The regime\u2019s killing of prisoners who were rightfully\u00a0<\/span>protesting to be released among<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0coronavirus<\/a><\/span>\u00a0pandemic<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>reveals\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>regime\u2019s true and inhumane nature.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the coronavirus outbreak in Iran,\u00a0<\/span>the Iranian regime has been pursuing a\u00a0<\/span>dual-track<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>policy. In<\/span>\u00a0Iran, via cover-up and\u00a0<\/span>inaction and<\/span>\u00a0now forcing people back to work amid the coronavirus outbreak<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0<\/span>uses the coronavirus as a lever of oppression.\u00a0<\/span>O<\/span>utside Iran<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0mullahs and their apologists shed\u00a0<\/span>crocodile tears for\u00a0<\/span>the Iranian\u00a0<\/span>people and depict U.S.\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>anctions\u00a0<\/span>as the reason for the COVID-19 high mortality rate.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The h<\/span>andling\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>the coronavirus outbreak\u00a0<\/span>in prisons by the regime alone debunks<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0regime\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>bogus claims that it has done everything to hel<\/span>p\u00a0<\/span>people<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and that\u00a0<\/span>\u201csanctions\u201d are hindering\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>mullahs\u2019 \u201cwholehearted\u201d help.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regime’s approach towards the\u00a0<\/span>prisoners<\/span>\u00a0rejects\u00a0<\/span>such<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>claims<\/span>. Some of the relevant events<\/span>:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. The Iranian regime executed\u202f<\/span>Mostafa\u202f<\/span>Salimi<\/span><\/a>, a prisoner who had<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>escaped during the\u202f<\/span>Saqqez<\/span>\u202fprison<\/span>\u202frebellion, on April 11<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. There have been at least 13 riots by prisoners across Iran.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. On March 3<\/span>0 and 31<\/span>, d<\/span>uring the\u00a0<\/span>prisoners’<\/span>\u00a0riot<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0in southwest Iran, the regime brutally attacked prisoners and their family members.\u00a0<\/span>S<\/span>ecurity forces responded to the coronavirus-related rioting late March by firing live ammunition and tear gas. According to prisoners\u2019 relatives, dozens of prisoners were suffocated with teargas\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>burned to death during a prison riot over conditions, amid an outbreak of Covid-19.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Amnesty International said it feared around 36 prisoners have been killed by Iranian regime enforcers attempting to suppress uprisings in at least eight prisons around the country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/span>On April\u00a0<\/span>15<\/span>, 2020,\u00a0<\/span>Shahin\u00a0<\/span>Gobadi<\/span><\/a>, member of the\u00a0<\/span>National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Foreign Affairs Committee,\u00a0<\/span>said<\/span><\/a>: \u201cAccording to various reports from various prisons throughout Iran, namely through\u202feyewitnesses, relatives of the prisoners, or internal reports of the Iranian regime obtained by the network of<\/span>\u202fthe People\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Mojahed<\/span>i<\/span>n<\/span>\u00a0Organization of Iran<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>nside the\u202fcountry, an alarming number of prisoners in Iran have been infected by the coronavirus in prisons like\u202f<\/span>Evin<\/span>\u202fPrison and\u202f<\/span>Fashafo<\/span>u<\/span>ye<\/span>\u202fprison<\/span>,<\/span>\u202fin the Greater Tehran prison.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In a\u00a0<\/span>webinar<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on April 1<\/span>4<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Mr.\u00a0<\/span>Gobadi<\/span>\u00a0along with\u00a0<\/span>a former political prisoner who recently left Iran elaborated on how Iranian authorities have covered up the real\u00a0<\/span>death toll and<\/span>\u00a0information about the<\/span>\u00a0spread of<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0coronavirus inside prisons.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cSo critical is the situation in prisons that based on reliable and eyewitness reports, there were rebellions in at least eight prisons in protest against the virus spread and lack of minimum hygienic needs as well as the refusal to release the prisoners,\u201d said Mr.\u00a0<\/span>Gobadi<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI spent months in a 6-meter solitary confinement cell that lacked the least sanitation. First days, whenever I was taken for a long interrogation out of a 6-meter cell with a dirty carpet and a water tap that was always dripping, I didn\u2019t know what fate awaited me. We could not see guards and corridors because wearing blindfold was a strict law. No cleaning material was available. The filthiness of the bathroom and toilet was devastating. I was deprived of the least open air of the yard during my detention,\u201d said the political prisoner.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cPrisoner patients w<\/span>ho have tested\u00a0<\/span>positive<\/span>\u00a0for<\/span>\u00a0covid-19 are deliberately transferred to rooms where political prisoners are being held, both to instill fear and to keep the silent massacre policy going,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>he added.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In other words, this information shows how the Iranian regime and its apologists are criminally using the coronavirus outbreak as both a lever of pressure on the international community to lift sanctions and oppression to control the restive Iranian society.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The regime desperately needs the sanctions<\/span>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0be lifted so it could continue its funding of terrorism and export of chaos.\u00a0 Based on\u00a0<\/span>reports<\/span><\/a>\u00a0obtained by MEK sources from within the<\/span>\u202fIslamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the Quds Force<\/span><\/a>\u202fis continuing to transfer cash to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Part of the money is sent in the form of special packages and suitcases carried by the\u202f<\/span>Quds Force<\/span><\/a>\u2019s Intelligence Protection Officers in flights from Tehran to Lebanon.<\/span>\u00a0This action has resulted in the spread of<\/span>\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0virus\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span>\u00a0Lebanon.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    For this reason<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0Mrs. Maryam Rajavi<\/a>, the NCRI\u2019s president-elect<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0has said:\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Today, regime change in Iran is indispensable not only to freedom and democracy in #Iran but also to the health of each and every individual in Iran and to the protection of their houses, cities and villages against natural disasters<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Today, regime change in Iran is indispensable not only to freedom and democracy in #Iran<\/a> but also to the health of each and every individual in Iran and to the protection of their houses, cities and villages against natural disasters #FreeIran2020<\/a> #COVID19<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MNqb0SDGOW<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 8, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n