The Iranian Parliament approved Sunday the broad outlines of a bill to transfer Tehran prisons and detention centers to the suburbs.
A majority of 215 lawmakers in the 290-seat chamber endorsed the bill proposed by the government, sources told the official Iranian news agency, IRNA. The details of the bill are to be revealed later on.
Tehran houses two major prisons: the Evin Prison in northwestern Tehran and the Qasr Prison downtown.
About two-thirds of Iran's 158,000-strong prison population have drug-related convictions.
Officials say Iranian prisons are overcrowded dens of drug-taking where the spread of infectious disease is rife.
Iran plans to cut down the number of its prisons to 60 from 180, and is taking steps to protect the rights of prisoners, including a ban on the mandatory shaving of heads of male prisoners – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
