10 fold increase in prison population – official

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Feb. 27 – Iran’s prison population has increased more than 10 times since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the country’s head of prisons announced. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 27 – Iran’s prison population has increased more than 10 times since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the country’s head of prisons announced.

Ali-Akbar Yassaqi, head of the Organisation of Prisons of Iran, said that the total number of prisoners in Iran was 130,118, up from the 13,000 at the beginning of the revolution.

Yassaqi said that 96 percent of prisoners were men and four percent were women.

The latest figure, however, was lower than the prison figures previously announced by Iran’s judiciary.

International human rights groups regularly voice their concern at the plight of political prisoners in Iran, but Tehran maintains it has no political prisoners and describes jailed dissidents as “criminals”.