Page 11 - IRANRptNov20

Under the embargo, Iran has always been free to acquire purely defensive weapons, including, if it wished, the Russian-made S-400 air defence system that was last year bought by Nato member Turkey.
2.6​ ​UN rights head calls on Iran to release prisoners overly exposed to rampant virus
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on October 6 called on Iran to release human rights defenders, lawyers, and political prisoners held in the country's overcrowded prisons, amid sanitary conditions that have worsened during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
She spoke out on a day when Iran saw its highest ever number of officially recorded new coronavirus infections—4,151, taking the total to 479,825—as officials kept most of the country in the “red zone” as they fought what they refer to as the “third Covid wave”. The latest 24-hour cycle also saw 227 COVID-19 patients die, bringing the official overall number of deaths to 27,419. Al-Jazeera said officials were referring to the situation as “catastrophic”, a “tsunami” and “critical”.
"Shortages of water, hygiene products, and disinfectant, insufficient protective equipment and testing kits, as well as a lack of isolation spaces and inadequate medical care have led to the spread of the virus among detainees and have reportedly resulted in a number of deaths," Bachelet said in a statement​.
Some 120,000 inmates have been temporarily released from Iranian prisons to avoid further infections, according to official figures, though many have been required to return and people serving longer sentences for national security offences were excluded from the release plan.
As a result, "most of those who may have been arbitrarily detained—including human rights defenders, lawyers, dual and foreign nationals, conservationists, and others deprived of their liberty for expressing their views or exercising other rights—have been placed at a heightened risk of contracting the virus," according to Bachelet.
Bachelet cited the case of prominent human rights lawyer and women's rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh. She described her as a "persistent and courageous advocate for the rights of her fellow Iranians."
The 57-year-old Sotoudeh was arrested in 2018 and later sentenced to a total of 38 1/2 years in prison and 148 lashes over her defense of political prisoners, including women protesting the compulsory hijab law.
Last month, she was transferred from a prison cell to a hospital north of Tehran following a hunger strike for better prison conditions and the release of political prisoners. Days later, she was returned to Tehran's Evin prison where she brought her hunger strike to an end after nearly 50 days due to deteriorating health.
Also on October 6, China and 25 other states called on the US and other
11​ IRAN Country Report November 2020 www.intellinews.com