Covid-19 is close two million, European optimism, fears on fate thousands in Turkish jails

According to the latest statistics, 1,925,528 people were infected, 119,718 people died, and 452,178 people worldwide recovered.

On Monday evening, the United States recorded 1,509 deaths from the new Coronavirus within 24 hours, in a daily count of nearly the previous day (1,514 deaths), according to data published by Johns Hopkins University.

On Monday, the Covid-19 pandemic appeared to be slowing in Europe, the most affected continent, but while countries such as Spain eased quarantine measures, others like France decided to extend it.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the extension of lockdown to May 11, in a televised speech on the outbreak of the new Corona virus, during which he called for writing off part of the debt of African countries.

The data of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, today, Tuesday, showed that the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Germany increased by 2,082 to reach 125,098, in the fourth decrease in the number of new cases after four days of rise. The data indicated that the number of deaths rose 170 to 2,969.

Although the Coronavirus continues to spread around the world, amid warnings by W.H.O to rush to lift restrictions on movement, Germany is considering this option.

Spain has already allowed some workers to return to their jobs, and Italy's hardest hit region has loosened the restrictions.

In its daily report, the Chinese Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that it had registered 89 new cases of Coronavirus, compared to 108 the previous day.

The National Health Commission reported that 86 of the new cases, of people who came from abroad, were down from 98 the previous day.

And the Chinese Radio and Television Corporation said earlier that 79 of the arriving cases were in the northeastern region, bordering Russia.

Meanwhile, concern is growing about the fate of thousands of prisoners in Turkey, and the government is still not responding to calls for their release, as 3 prisoners died yesterday.

On Monday evening, the Turkish parliament passed a controversial law allowing the release of tens of thousands of prisoners with the aim of alleviating overcrowding in prisons threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic, but preventing the release of political prisoners.

Non-governmental organizations, led by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have criticized the text that prevents the release of prisoners under the controversial "anti-terrorism law".

These organizations regretted that this law does not benefit a large number of journalists, political opponents, and lawyers who are imprisoned, whether they are arrested or accused.

Among them are accused persons awaiting trial or awaiting the commencement of their trials, and detainees awaiting formal charges against them in preparation for their trial.

"Many people are in prison because they have exercised their rights - and they have not committed any crime - excepted (from the release procedure) because the government chooses to use very flexible and overly broad and anti-terrorist laws," Amnesty International official Andrew Gardner told AFP.

Among those imprisoned are businessman and human rights defender Osman Kavala, Kurdish politician and former co-chair of HDP, Salah al-Din Demirtaş.

T/S

ANHA