The head of the Social Work Association states that, on average, 50 people enter Iranian prisons every hour. Hassan Mousavi Chelak, the head of the Social Work Association, expressed concern over the increasing number of prisoners and its social consequences, calling for the use of alternative punishments. According to him, the judiciary can consider other punishments for convicts instead of imprisonment based on Article 64 of the Islamic Penal Code. Article 64 states that 'alternative punishments to imprisonment include probation, community service, fines, daily fines, and deprivation of social rights, which are determined and executed considering the type of crime and its nature if the plaintiff forgives and there are mitigating circumstances.' Judiciary officials have repeatedly mentioned their desire to reduce the number of prisoners, and while the head of the judiciary issued a directive in 2013 to 'reduce the prison population,' the years of delay in implementing this directive have led to Iranian prisons still being over capacity, with the number of prisoners on the rise. Recently, a member of the Judicial and Legal Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly pointed out a '4.5% increase' in the number of prisoners and temporary detentions in the country in 2017, attributing this to the 'interest of some judges' in imprisonment or temporary detention. According to Hamid Shahriari, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Information of the judiciary, in Iran, 287 out of every 100,000 people are in prison, placing Iran eighth in the world in terms of the number of prisoners. Based on published statistics, the number of prisoners in Iran has reached 240,000. Asghar Jahangir, the head of the Prison Organization, previously stated that from 1985 to 2016, the number of prisoners grew by 333%, while the country's population increased by 66% during the same period. However, most prison sentences in the country are related to drug and psychotropic offenses. Taghi Rostamvandi, Deputy Minister of Interior, mentioned in a joint meeting with the Crime Prevention and Social Harm Commission of the Parliament that 43% of prisoners, or 95,000 individuals, are drug offenders. According to Hassan Mousavi Chelak, the head of the Social Work Association, most judges prefer to impose prison sentences, and thus, the Iranian judicial system needs to be revised.
50 People Enter Iranian Prisons Every Hour
Hassan Mousavi Chelak revealed that 50 individuals enter Iranian prisons every hour, raising concerns about the rising prison population and its social implications. He advocates for alternative punishments to reduce the number of inmates, as current statistics show Iran's prison system is over capacity and heavily populated with drug offenders. This situation highlights the need for judicial reform in Iran.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Hassan Mousavi Chelak reported that 50 people enter Iranian prisons every hour, raising concerns about overcrowding and advocating for alternative sentencing. The Iranian prison system is heavily populated with drug offenders, and judicial reform is needed to address these issues.
- Iran has one of the highest prison populations globally, with 287 prisoners per 100,000 people.
- 43% of Iranian prisoners are incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Iran's prison system is one of the largest in the world, with a significant portion of inmates incarcerated for drug offenses. The judiciary has been slow to implement reforms aimed at reducing the prison population.
🏷️ Entities Mentioned
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%