Tehran urges US to release Iranian scientist infected with COVID-19

Iran’s Judiciary has urged the United States to immediately release Sirous Asgari, the Iranian scientist who has contracted the coronavirus in a prison in Louisiana.

According to Press TV, Asgari, a professor of material sciences at Sharif University of Technology, has remained behind bars in the US despite having been exonerated in a sanctions trial.

The scientist recently contracted the coronavirus after he repeatedly drew attention to his fragile health and called for his release from the “dirty” and “overcrowded” jail facility, his lawyers told The Guardian.

In comments on Friday, Secretary of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights said only the immediate release of Dr. Asgari can allay concerns about his health.

“We are worried about the health conditions of all Iranians jailed in American prisons; however, the news of the infection of the Iranian thinker … has added to our concerns,” Ali Baqeri Kani said.

“We are following up his release through relevant authorities, because concerns about his health can only be allayed if he is immediately released,” he noted.

He also pointed to the reports of dire conditions in US prisons and said, “The Iranian scientist’s underlying respiratory illness has made concerns about Dr. Asgari’s health even more serious.”

“Therefore, we ask the Iranian Foreign Ministry to expedite its efforts to have him released by using all its political, diplomatic, and legal capacities,” he added.

SS