A campaign poster showing environmental activists, Taher Ghadirian, Niloufar Bayani, Amirhossein Khaleghi, Houman Jokar, Sam Rajabi, Sepideh Kashani, Morad Tahbaz and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh. © 2018 #anyhopefornature Campaign

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on July 12 that Iranian environmentalist Sepideh Kashani recently tested positive for the virus that causes Covid-19.

Kashani is one of eight environmental activists affiliated with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF) whom authorities detained in January 2018 on accusations of “using environmental projects as a cover for espionage.” In November 2019, an Iranian court sentenced Kashani and her colleagues to prison time ranging between 4 and 10 years. Kashani received a 6-year sentence, which an appeals court upheld in February 2020.

In the beginning of the pandemic, Iranian authorities released many prisoners, including Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, another member of the environmental group.

Since early 2020, several peaceful activists and dissidents held in Evin Prison have contracted the virus, including the poet Baktash Abtin and Iranian-British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Iranian authorities should immediately reduce prison populations across the country to combat the spread of the coronavirus and publish complete information on the number of positive Covid-19 cases recorded in prisons and detention centers.

In March 2021, authorities temporarily released Kashani and others for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, but they have since been returned to prison.

Iran’s prison authorities should unconditionally release all people detained for peaceful dissent, including Kashani and her PWHF colleagues, and temporarily release all eligible prisoners to minimize the spread of Covid-19. For those who remain, prison authorities should ensure equitable access to masks, hygiene supplies, Covid-19 tests, treatment and vaccines, in line with World Health Organization guidance and international human rights standards.