Immediate release of all prisoners of conscience in Iran!
Islamic Republic of Iran must end its hostilities towards the civil society!
As the Coronavirus crisis continues, the prospect of containment is still unclear. Our country is one of the main victims of the spread of this virus, and so far, despite the efforts of the country's health care facilities and staff, it has not been possible to control the disease. In addition to the thousands killed, tens of thousands suffer from COVID 19, and the number is growing. According to some sources, including the Parliamentary Research Center, the death toll was at least twice as high as the official figure and those stricken by it eight to ten times as high. This fact shows that the current state of emergency and preventive measures must continue, and according to health experts, the closure of communities, quarantine of areas, traffic control and gatherings should still be on the agenda.
In a situation where the whole world is concerned about the virus, the Islamic Republic's repressive apparatus is still busy arresting and even killing prisoners, despite calls for the release of prisoners to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Keyvan Samimi, chief editor of Iran Farda magazine, has been sentenced to five years in prison on charges of participating in a May 1st rally last year.
Four of the Signatories of a letter known as “statement of 14” Mohammad Nourizad, Hashem Khastaar, Mohammad Hossein Sepehri and Fatemeh Sepehri have been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison. University disciplinary committees have virtually summoned student activists. After rioting in prisons across the country to protest prisons and the risk of a corona outbreak, Mustafa Salimi was executed for escaping from prison. The number of executions has also risen, with at least 84 people executed in the past four months, two of them were underage at the time of the alleged crime. The move also provoked protests from human rights groups and the United Nations. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the execution of two teenagers, Shayan Saeedpour and Majid Ismailzadeh, as a clear violation of international human rights law.
Our country's prisons, which have not yet met the required health standards, are one of the most dangerous centers for spread of Coronavirus, and most of them are overcrowded. It is difficult to control the disease in the densely populated areas such as prisons, and the Islamic Republic threatens the lives of prisoners by refusing to release them. Although the judiciary has announced that it has released about 100,000 prisoners there is no way to verify such a claim. However, there are still a large number of prisoners, most of them considered dangerous to society.
None of the political, press and civil prisoners have been released. Some furlough have also been cut in half. Ismail Abdi, one of the country's teachers' union activists, was taken to prison after his leave. Prominent prisoners of conscience, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mohammad Nourizad, Hashem Khastaar, Soheil Arabi, Athena Daemi, Golrokh Iraee, Zeinab Jalalian, are still in prison. Renown Human Rights activist Narges Mohammadi although extremely sick was exiled to a prison in Zanjan and has been threatened.
Instead of releasing prisoners, the Islamic Republic has intensified detentions of civil and political activists, and sentenced them to long prison terms and executions.
There is no doubt that the gross violation of the human rights of the people is institutionalized in this government, and the rulers continue to intensify it, even in the time of Corona.
It is the duty of human rights defenders, political forces and democratic institutions to press the Islamic Republic to release the political prisoners and to safeguard the life of other prisoners in the current crisis.
We the four Democratic Secular Republican parties and organizations, strongly condemn the continued detention of civil society activists, summons, trials of dissidents, and the execution. We call for immediate release of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, ideological and civil prisoners, and consider the release of all prisoners who do not pose a threat to society a necessary step in countering the spread of Corona in the country's prisons.
United Republicans of Iran
Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
Organizations of the National Front of Iran-Abroad
Union for Secular Republic and Human Rights in Iran
April 28, 2020
