November 4, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 8, 1424

TEHRAN, Nov 3: The Iranian judiciary has ordered all prisons in the country to destroy the notorious single cells, the Tehran daily Ressalat reported on Monday.

The previous single cells, some of them said to measure less than two metres squared, will be destroyed and replaced with “single suites”, the head of the prisons’ organization, Morteza Bakhtiari, said.

The first phase started on Sunday in Evin prison in northern Tehran and will gradually expand to all prisons.

The move by the judiciary came after numerous protests from inside and outside the country regarding the unbearable situation of prisoners in the former single cells. The European Union has demanded that Iran address it human rights in the country before bilateral ties are improved.

The country’s reformists have also brought pressure to bear and, as well as improving prison conditions, the hardline judiciary is reportedly planning to lift some traditional laws such as death by stoning.—dpa