Iranian Authorities To Continue Decreasing Prison Population Over COVID-19
Faizan Hashmi Published July 14, 2020 | 08:07 PM
Iranian authorities will continue to reduce the occupancy rate in prisons to avoid the spread of the coronavirus among prisoners, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaeili said on Tuesday
TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) Iranian authorities will continue to reduce the occupancy rate in prisons to avoid the spread of the coronavirus among prisoners, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaeili said on Tuesday.
"Last Wednesday, the head of the judiciary ordered the resumption of the process of temporary release of prisoners," Esmaeili said, as aired by the IRINN broadcaster, adding that this decision was made due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
According to the official, legislative norms have been enacted for downgrading punishment for certain crimes. This requires the cases of specific prisoners to be reviewed.
In addition, he added that the Iranian authorities are currently trying to use other types of punishment rather than imprisonment when possible.
"It helped reduce the number of people in prisons, and also allowed to maintain the health of prisoners," Esmaeili added.
As of May 5, Iran has temporarily released over 114,000 prisoners who were serving their sentences. This, however, did not include prisoners that pose a danger to society.
Iran has recorded over 260,000 cases of COVID-19 and about 13,200 fatalities. Over the past month, the epidemiological situation in the country has worsened, both in terms of the average daily infection rate and the number of coronavirus-related deaths.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
7 minutes ago -
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
7 minutes ago -
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
22 minutes ago -
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
12 minutes ago -
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
12 minutes ago -
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
20 minutes ago
-
Israeli-fired unexploded bombs could take 14 years to clear: UN
12 minutes ago -
US announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
7 minutes ago -
Pakistan’s National Day Reception held in Colombo
7 minutes ago -
Erdogan's White House talks with Biden on May 9 postponed: Turkish official
6 minutes ago -
Spanish PM keeps country guessing on his future
6 minutes ago -
At least 10 people killed in Brazil fire: officials
2 hours ago