{"id":1591,"date":"2020-02-28T17:55:29","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T17:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2020-03-02T18:04:50","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T18:04:50","slug":"grave-concerns-for-prisoners-in-iran-amid-coronavirus-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/?p=1591","title":{"rendered":"Grave Concerns for Prisoners in Iran Amid Coronavirus Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tehran Prison Lacks Medicines, Sanitary Supplies as Some Inmates Exhibit \u201cSevere\u201d Cold Symptoms<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

February 28, 2020 \u2013 The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is extremely concerned by reports that prisoners in Iran lack access to medicines as well as hygiene and sanitary products amid a\u00a0rapidly rising death toll<\/a>\u00a0from a\u00a0coronavirus outbreak<\/a>\u00a0in the country.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re receiving disturbing reports that Iranian authorities are neglecting their domestic and international legal obligations to protect prisoners from contracting COVID-19 during this health crisis,\u201d said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrison populations are more susceptible to viral outbreaks than the general population because of their confined living conditions,\u201d he added. \u201cIranian authorities should ensure the safety and wellbeing of all prisoners and exhaust all means of protecting this vulnerable population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s Evin Prison Has \u201cRun Out\u201d of Medicines and Sanitary Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wards in Tehran\u2019s Evin Prison have \u201crun out\u201d of medicines, sanitary, and hygiene supplies, the relatives of two\u00a0dual national<\/a>\u00a0prisoners held there told CHRI.<\/p>\n

Reports have meanwhile surfaced of a prisoner held elsewhere in the city dying from \u201cflu-like\u201d symptoms.<\/p>\n

On February 28, the Iran Metropolitan News Agency\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cHamidreza,\u201d a 44-year-old man in the\u00a0Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary<\/a>\u00a0(GTCP), had died from \u201cflu-like symptoms of the mysterious coronavirus\u2026 a few days after he started to cough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestigations are continuing to determine the cause of the man\u2019s death,\u201d added the report.<\/p>\n

An Iranian-born British charity worker who has been imprisoned in Evin Prison’s\u00a0Women\u2019s Ward<\/a>\u00a0since 2016,\u00a0Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe<\/a>, has meanwhile come down with a \u201csore throat\u201d and \u201ccold sweat\u201d as others in her ward have also been exhibiting cold symptoms, her husband\u00a0Richard Ratcliffe<\/a>\u00a0told CHRI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest shock for me is that in the women\u2019s ward they have run out of cleaning products\u2014no disinfectant, no bleach, no sanitary gel,\u201d said Ratcliffe on February 27, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prison clinic has no medication,\u201d he added. \u201cThe guards have disinfectant for themselves, but the prisoners have none.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ratcliffe explained that supplies are supposed to be distributed every month but \u201cthey have run out and there is no budget to buy more, and no stock in the prison shop outside of washing-up liquid. Similarly, the prison clinic seems to have run out of medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

The wife of imprisoned Iranian-born British national\u00a0Anoosheh Ashoori<\/a>, a retired engineer, said her husband\u2019s Ward 7 in Evin Prison also lacked crucial medical and sanitary supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband said that there are no masks or sanitizers available or basic medicines such as paracetamol or cold tablets,\u201d\u00a0Sherry Izadi<\/a>\u00a0told CHRI on February 28.<\/p>\n

Izadi said prisoners held there had not been informed about how to protect themselves and \u201chaven\u2019t had access to any doctors for about 6 weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the inmates in Ward 7 had implemented their own set of rules and measures to protect themselves from contracting the virus and that they currently have access to some basic cleaning supplies such as bleach and dishwasher access.<\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s\u00a0Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners<\/a>\u00a0recommend that \u201c\u2026Where hospital facilities are provided in an institution, their equipment, furnishings, and\u00a0pharmaceutical supplies shall be proper for the medical care and treatment of sick prisoners, and there shall be a staff of suitable trained officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s State Prison Regulations are also explicit regarding the medical care of prisoners. Article 118 states, \u201cExamination, and when necessary treatment of sick convicts is the responsibility of the prison or\u00a0training facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prisons Suffer from Overcrowding, Unhygienic Living Conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Documented\u00a0<\/strong>overcrowding<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0unhygienic living conditions<\/a>\u00a0as well as\u00a0denial of access<\/a>\u00a0to adequate medical treatment in\u00a0Iranian prisons<\/a>\u2014including in\u00a0Tehran\u2019s Evin Prison<\/a>,\u00a0Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj<\/a>, and the\u00a0Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary<\/a>\u2014have exacerbated fears of COVID-19\u00a0prison outbreaks<\/a>\u00a0as well as worries that ailing prisoners will struggle to access treatment.<\/p>\n

Between 2003-2018, at least 29 political prisoners\u00a0died in Iranian state custody<\/a>\u00a0due to torture, denial of medical care, or gross negligence on the part of Iranian authorities, according to investigations by CHRI. That number does not include deaths in the general prison population or death by execution.<\/p>\n

Iran currently has the highest COVID-19-related\u00a0death toll<\/a>\u00a0outside of China.<\/p>\n

An official said that 34 had died from the virus as of February 28, but hospital sources told the BBC that the number was at least 210.<\/p>\n

Experts suggest the reason why Iran has a higher fatality rate than the global average is because of\u00a0inaccurate reporting<\/a>\u00a0of the number of infections in the country.<\/p>\n

A public health expert who helped develop HIV prevention programs in Iran told CHRI that prisoners should be temporarily released to the extent possible, shouldn\u2019t have close contact with other people, and Iranian authorities should reduce the number of new entries \u201cbecause they can bring in infection from the outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because they\u2019re living in close proximity to each other, \u201cif one gets infected, the others can easily get infected,\u201d\u00a0Kamiar Alaei<\/a>\u00a0told CHRI. \u201cThey have to break the chain of transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

On February 28, Health Minister Alireza Zali\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0reporters that the judiciary \u201cshould grant prisoners furlough [temporary release] to significantly reduce their numbers in Tehran\u2019s prisons on the basis of their criminal classification and subject to the prisoners receiving health certificates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days earlier, the head of the State Prisons Organization, Asghar Jahangir,\u00a0recommended<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cspecial preventive measures should immediately be taken\u201d to prevent\u00a0COVID-19 prison outbreaks \u201cincluding daily and continuous disinfection of the facilities, giving prisoners access to health facilities and providing training to prisoners and guards necessary for self-care.\u201d<\/p>\n

On February 28 Jahangir added that \u201call group activities, including athletic, artistic, cultural and vocational training activities, even community prayer, will be suspended in all prisons throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The officials\u2019 statements come on the heels of\u00a0calls<\/a>\u00a0by the families of\u00a0political prisoners<\/a>\u2014including the country\u2019s most\u00a0prominent human rights attorney<\/a>\u2014that their loved ones are being held in unsafe living conditions and should be released.<\/p>\n

\u201cIranian authorities should protect the\u00a0right to health<\/a>\u00a0of all Iranians including prisoners whose lives are in the hands of the\u00a0judiciary<\/a>\u00a0and State Prisons Organization to which it reports, which have repeatedly failed to protect them,\u201d said Ghaemi.<\/p>\n

For interviews, contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jasmin Ramsey<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 347-689-7782<\/p>\n

jasmin@iranhumanrights.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Visit our website:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.iranhumanrights.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tehran Prison Lacks Medicines, Sanitary Supplies as Some Inmates Exhibit \u201cSevere\u201d Cold Symptoms February 28, 2020 \u2013 The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is extremely concerned by reports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[495,56],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","tag-coronavirus","tag-political-prisoners"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1592,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/1592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iransos.com\/en\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}