Iran's judiciary said that it has temporary released more than 1,000 foreign prisoners due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, following criticism by UN human rights experts, AFP reported.

“What Iran has done in guaranteeing prisoners' health and granting furlough to them is a significant move” compared with what other countries have done, said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.

A panel of UN human rights experts last week called on Iran to expand the list of prisoners it has temporarily released over the Covid-19 outbreak to include “prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals”.