TEHRAN – An exhibition of handicrafts produced by prisoners across the country kicked off in Tehran on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

The exhibition, called “Hami” (literally meaning patron), will run for a month in Gholhak neighborhood, northern Tehran.

The products include copper paintings, glassware, hand-made leather bags, enamel tableware, wood and leather carved tables, turquoise carvings, carpets, and mosaics.

Sustained employment of prisoners during incarceration and support for the employment of prisoners’ families after release is on the agenda, Mohammad Mehdi Haj-Mohammadi, head of the Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization said.

Prisoner employment has reached 30 percent over the first six months of this year (March 2020-September 2020), and is projected to reach 50 percent by the end of this year (March 20), he stated.

About 70 percent of prisoners in Iran are directly and indirectly involved in drug-related crimes, Eskandar Momeni, the director of headquarters for the fight against narcotics, said in November 2020.

Some 40 percent of the inmates in prisons are convicted of drug smuggling directly and 30 percent indirectly, he stated.

According to Momeni, many social harms such as divorce, violent behaviors, robbery, etc. are rooted in drug use.

He added that over four million people in the country are regular and recreational drug users.

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