“Based on the order of the Judiciary Chief, 500 special committees will be established in all judicial districts to address the status of prisoners, both those in furlough and those still in prison,” Gholamhossein Esmaeili said on Saturday night in a live TV program.
In late March, the Judiciary once again extended prison leave for some 100,000 inmates as the country is pressing ahead with its measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. According to the order, furloughs had been extended until April 19 for those prisoners who had been granted a leave until April 3. Esmaeili has then said that such an extension does not include those prisoners who have carried out an illegal or criminal act during their furloughs.
The committees will study how many of the inmates bear the required conditions to continue furlough, added the spokesman, noting that these groups will determine the exact number of prisoners who can be freed.
“Some of the furloughed inmates and even some of the inmates who are now in prison may be freed, although a group of prisoners will gradually be sent back to imprisonment according to a timetable,” he added.
MNA/ 4903793