LONDON: Experts from the UN Human Rights Council have called on Iran to temporarily release human rights defenders from prison to protect them from the spread of COVID-19. “They should not be imprisoned in the first place, and so I urge the government to grant them release before their inaction results in tragic consequences.”Lawlor said she had received reports of the deteriorating health and wellbeing of imprisoned human rights defenders in Iranian detention. The UN has repeatedly urged Tehran to temporarily release prisoners, including human rights defenders, from jail to protect their wellbeing. “The refusal of the authorities in Iran to grant human rights defenders temporary release during a pandemic is symptomatic of a complete disregard for fundamental human rights, and for the safety and wellbeing of those imprisoned for their human rights work,” said Javaid Rehman, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the country. According to rights group Amnesty International, “Iran’s prisons remain catastrophically ill-equipped for dealing with outbreaks.”Its prison system was already vastly overcrowded, Amnesty said, and the coronavirus outbreak only made the situation more dire.

Source: Ethiopian News September 16, 2020 13:18 UTC