23 Iran prisoners escape on eve of Persian New Year

Twenty-three inmates escaped from an Iranian prison while guards were making preparations for a Persian New Year amnesty, state news agency IRNA reported Friday.

It said the detainees escaped overnight from a facility in the western city of Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province, just hours before the start of Nowruz, Iran's New Year celebrations.

IRNA denied guards had shot a prisoner during the escape, saying such reports came from "unreliable sources", after opposition groups tweeted that several inmates were shot.

The escapees had been serving a maximum of one-year sentences, the agency said, denying dangerous individuals went free.

On Wednesday night, Iran's judiciary said that "around 10,000 prisoners" would be released in the New Year amnesty.

The move aimed to "reduce the number of prisoners in light of the sensitive situation in the country", a judiciary spokesman said, making no explicit reference to the coronavirus pandemic which has hit Iran hard.

According to the latest official toll, the virus has killed 1,433 people in the Islamic republic, ranking it among the world's worst hit countries.