Page 7 - IRANRptApr20

In a letter to world leaders sent at the end of last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Europe and Iran were involved in the same struggle. “There is no doubt that in the face of a dangerous global epidemic, Tehran and Qom are not far from Paris, London and New York, and any policy that weakens the economic structure and medical system, and limits financial resources for crisis management, will have direct effects on the fight against the epidemic in other countries.”
2.2​ ​Some political prisoners amid 85,000 temporarily released from Iranian prisons in COVID-19 measure
Iran’s judiciary on March 17 said around 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, have been temporarily released in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The COVID-19 death toll in Iran stands at 988 amid 16,169 cases.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said only those serving sentences of less than five years had been freed. Political prisoners and others charged with heavier sentences related to participation in anti-government protests have been kept in jail.
“Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures to confront the outbreak,” Esmaili said.
No details on when those released would have to return to jail have been given.
On March 10, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, said he had asked Tehran to free all political prisoners temporarily from its overcrowded and disease-ridden jails to help stem the spread of coronavirus.
Separately, the United Arab Emirates, usually seen as a regional foe of Iran aligned with Saudi Arabia, has lent support to the Iranians by sending two planes carrying 32 tonnes of medical supplies, including gloves and surgical masks.
2.3​ ​Iran’s struggle against coronavirus “severely hampered” by US sanctions Rouhani says in letter to world leaders
Iran’s struggle against the coronavirus is being “severely hampered” by US sanctions, President Hassan Rouhani has said in a letter to world leaders.
Rouhani reportedly sent the letter on March 14 just prior to a weekend that saw Iran’s coronavirus (COVID-19) death toll amid the pandemic reach 724, with 13,938 infections reported. State media said Rouhani wrote to a number of world leaders, but did not name them.
“In (a) letter to counterparts @HassanRouhani informs how efforts to fight
7​ IRAN Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com