More and more Iranians are being imprisoned for speaking out about the regime’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Iran. At the same time, prisoners are becoming sick with the disease, and those who try to complain, resist, or escape face severe punishment, including death.

Despite the Coronavirus outbreak that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Iranians, the mullahs’ regime in Iran continues to carry out executions. The latest reports from the MEK Iran indicate that on Tuesday 21^st April, Shayan Saeedpour was executed in Saqqez Prison in the western part of the country.

Iranian prisoners are among the most vulnerable in the country. The already unhygienic conditions prisoners are being held in and the general trend of overcrowding make prisons breeding grounds for Coronavirus.

Iranian prisoners across the country are staging massive revolts and breakouts, according to reports from MEK sources. The rebellions are due to the regime’s failure to take basic steps to safeguard the health and wellbeing of prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic.

An outbreak of coronavirus in Iran is far more serious than the regime is revealing. It has become so serious that according to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) the 2,600 fatalities so far have affected 115 cities spread across 30 provinces.

Soheil Arabi, a political prisoner in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, has been denied medical treatment and his health is deteriorating. He is in severe pain and he has been asking for medication – to no avail. He also requires surgery because of a physical injury and has an infection that is spreading.

The Greater Tehran Penitentiary is known for its poor sanitation and there are huge numbers of prisoners crammed into very small spaces. The prisoners face many health-related risks on a normal basis, but with the spread of Coronavirus, the risk has become significantly higher.

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has occurred in a number of the regime’s prisons and is being largely ignored by prison officials https://t.co/btThqlXmY7#iran #freeiran #MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/tSIad4egFU

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 4, 2020

Last year, it was reported that Soheil Arabi had been in serious danger after suffering massive blood loss after having a broken nose. His nose was broken by prison authorities during an interrogation at the IRGC-controlled ward 2A and he was severely beaten.

Soheil Arabi was sentenced to death in 2013, but a few years later it was reduced to several years imprisonment and two years of mandatory study on the topic of Islamic theology. He was charged with insulting religious leaders in postings on social media.

Human rights organizations have called on the Iranian government to vacate the prisoner’s sentence, with many expressing their shock and disgust that the people of Iran risk imprisonment and the death penalty for issues related to the freedom of speech. Arabi is not the first prisoner in Iran that has been handed a death sentence for peacefully exercising his rights with regard to the freedom of expression.

Arabi has said that he was punished after “writing and publishing an article about the conditions of prisoners detained in ward 1 of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary”.

He explained that during an interrogation, a prison official kicked him violently in the testicles and when he regained consciousness he was in the hospital. A doctor explained to him that he had blunt force trauma and that he requires immediate surgery to remove one of his testicles. However, months passed and he was not granted the surgery he needed, meaning that infection took hold and has spread across his body, especially these legs.

Prison authorities in Iran take no responsibility for the health of the prisoners under their care and there are widespread reports that this is happening in prisons across the country, and political prisoners, in particular, are neglected and denied the most basic of health care.

There are major concerns in the country with regard to the spread of the Coronavirus. The prisoners of Iran are at particular risk because of the close confinement that they are subject to, as well as the poor sanitary conditions. The regime’s cover-up of the health crisis is despicable and it is becoming clearer and clearer why the people want regime change.

#Coronavirus Death Toll Rising in #Iranian #Prisons https://t.co/t8rhHqMgWg#MEK

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 3, 2020

Compared to the response by governments across the world, the Iranian regime has let down the people in one of the most serious ways possible. The already vulnerable people have been once again disappointment by the regime’s reaction. 

The Coronavirus situation in Iran continues to evolve, with more and more cases, and deaths, occurring on an hourly basis. It is now thought that a prisoner that has been held in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary has been infected. The prisoner, Amir Hossein Moradi, was being held in Ward 2 of the prison and has now been transferred to another location which remains unknown.

The prisoner was arrested during the major protests that swept across the country last year and was told that he would be sentenced to death only last week.

He has a neural illness and has spent time in the hospital for treatment. On Sunday 1^st March, it was confirmed that he has contracted Coronavirus COVID-19. By this time, he was already in his ward. This means that he has been in close contact with 19 other people who have been in the same ward with him.

Coronavirus, or COVID-19, has occurred in a number of the regime’s prisons and is being largely ignored by prison officials https://t.co/btThqlXmY7#iran #freeiran #MEK @USAdarFarsi pic.twitter.com/tSIad4egFU

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) March 4, 2020

Many of his fellow prisoners were also arrested during the major uprising that took place at the end of last year. The Iranian regime responded very forcefully to the protests, conscious that the regime is on very shaky ground.

#MEK Iran: Iran Uprising a Turning Point https://t.co/sx4xWjSfHq#IranProtests #Internet4Iran

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) December 30, 2019

Because of their close contact with Amir Hossein Moradi since his Coronavirus diagnosis, a number of prisoners have been taken from the prison and taken to Yaftabad Hospital on the outskirts of the city. Some of these include fellow protesters Mohammad Rajabi, Jamil Ghahremani, Milad Arsanjani, and Saeed Tamjidi. Their personal items were also taken from the ward in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary.

Like the whole Coronavirus situation and the Iranian government’s mismanagement of it, the prison officials have failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that the spread and contamination are stopped in its tracks. Reports from all over the world show that in such cases, other countries have proceeded to disinfect areas where contamination has occurred. Furthermore, prison officials have not given the prisoners access to medical and health supplies.

In Evin Prison in the country’s capital, it is thought that Nazanin Zaghari, a British Iranian that has been imprisoned for several years, has contracted the virus. Her husband is extremely concerned about her health after mentioning only months ago that his wife is experiencing some serious health concerns.

Other reports indicate that there is currently an outbreak of COVID-19 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. Once again, the situation is not being managed and prisoners do not have access to facemasks, gloves or disinfectants. Prisoners with worrying symptoms are not being treated properly.

Many reports from various prisons across the country indicate the coronavirus spreading.#Iran#CoronaOutbreak https://t.co/NW6QZbMbc3

— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 3, 2020

In a bid to stop Coronavirus from spreading, the judiciary has called on prison officials to grant leave to prisoners that have sentences shorter than five years, however, inexplicably, prisoners remain in prison.

The Iranian regime’s handling of the crisis has sparked outrage among the people of Iran and there have been many protests over the past few days. The people are furious that they cannot even trust the government to provide them with the facts and the proper advice that would lessen the severity of the crisis.