TEHRAN: Iran’s judiciary said on Tuesday that it has temporary released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, following criticism by UN human rights experts.
“What Iran has done in guaranteeing prisoners’ health and granting furlough to them is a significant move” compared with what other countries have done, said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.
British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, arrested in 2016 and serving a five-year jail term for sedition, was among 100,000 prisoners temporarily released in March.
Her leave had been extended until May 20, her lawyer told state news agency IRNA on Tuesday.
A panel of UN human rights experts last week called on Iran to expand the list of prisoners it has temporarily released over the COVID-19 outbreak to include “prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals.”
In response, Esmaili said the experts should report what “America and Britain have done regarding their detainees.”
“We have granted furlough to over 1,000 foreign nationals... some of these countries’ nationals were among them, too,” he told a news conference.
The judiciary spokesman said Iran should not be criticized for “discriminatory conduct” as it has an “excellent” track record.
The 100,000 — mainly Iranian — prisoners released temporarily last month were freed initially until April 19, when authorities extended their furlough until May 20.
The judiciary also announced last month that 10,000 prisoners would be released in an Iranian New Year amnesty.
The move aimed to “reduce the number of prisoners in light of the sensitive situation in the country,” Esmaili said at the time, without explicitly referring to the coronavirus pandemic.
Foreigners including French-Iranian Fariba Adelkhah and Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, Mohammad Bagher Namazi are believed to still be in detention, in the absence of any announcements to the contrary.
The Islamic republic does not recognize dual nationality and has lashed out at foreign governments for interfering in what it says are domestic cases.
Its government has been struggling to contain what is one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the novel coronavirus since reporting its first cases on February 19.
The virus has so far killed over 5,200 and infected more than 83,500 in the country.
Iran temporarily releases 1,000 foreign prisoners as coronavirus precaution
https://arab.news/mn7zm
Iran temporarily releases 1,000 foreign prisoners as coronavirus precaution
- UN human rights experts last week called on Iran to expand the list of prisoners it has temporarily released
Libya’s Ramadan celebrations tempered by economic woes
- Libya’s other economic problems included the absence of a unified national budget, in light of its political divide, as well as uncoordinated public spending due to parallel state institutions, Tetteh said
- Refills of gas cylinders, officially priced at 1.5 dinars ($0.24) but often unavailable through state-run distributors, now sell for 75 dinars ($11.85) on the black market and at times more
TRIPOLI: Libyans have been enjoying Ramadan with feasts and fireworks — but soaring prices, a devalued currency and political divisions have left many with little to celebrate.
Fifteen years on from the fall of longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi, the country remains split between east and west, while shortages of goods, including fuel, disrupt daily life, despite Libya sitting atop vast oil and gas reserves.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, shoppers stock up on treats, as families gather for lavish meals before and after the daytime fast that stretches from sunrise to sunset.
But this year supermarkets have been rationing their goods, while many petrol stations are short of gas. In the capital Tripoli, most ATMs were out of cash this week.
Firas Zreeg, 37, told AFP while weaving through a crowded supermarket that the economy was deteriorating, blaming currency speculators for the fall in the dinar, “which has negative repercussions on our daily lives.”
The price of cooking oil has doubled in recent weeks, while meat and poultry prices rose by half.
Refills of gas cylinders, officially priced at 1.5 dinars ($0.24) but often unavailable through state-run distributors, now sell for 75 dinars ($11.85) on the black market and at times more.
- ‘Burden on citizens’ -
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that erupted following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled Qaddafi.
It remains divided between a UN-recognized government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The country has largely been stable in recent years although there have been bouts of deadly violence, including the killing of Qaddafi’s son and heir apparent Seif Al-Islam this month.
With security holding, many Libyans are more focused on their livelihoods.
Last month, the central bank in the western territory devalued the dinar — the second time in less than a year — by nearly 15 percent, “aimed at preserving financial and monetary stability and ensuring the sustainability of public resources.”
In an address this week, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah acknowledged that the devaluation had once again “put the burden on citizens.”
Hanna Tetteh, head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, warned on Wednesday that “poverty and pressure on society [are] increasing.”
“The situation, in addition to the fragile security landscape, should be a matter for concern as such conditions can lead to unexpected political and security challenges,” she told the UN Security Council.
Libya’s other economic problems included the absence of a unified national budget, in light of its political divide, as well as uncoordinated public spending due to parallel state institutions, Tetteh said.
Revenues from the oil industry were also declining, she added, while the central bank has said public spending is growing at an unsustainable pace.
On Tuesday, Libya marked 15 years since the start of the uprising that eventually toppled Qaddafi, with fireworks lighting up the sky in Tripoli, but for many Libyans life remains a struggle.
“Minor improvements in security were made over the past three years,” Zreeg told AFP, but Libyans are still faced with huge economic challenges.
