Conviction of ‘Health Advocates’ to Prison with Cooperation of Security Institutions Due to Complaints Against Senior Government Officials

Three lawyers and two civil activists have been sentenced to prison for attempting to file complaints against the leader and officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding their negligent response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Hadi Ghaeemi, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, referring to the verdict issued against the health advocates, said: “The punishment of these lawyers and activists carries a message to the Iranian people that if you try to hold the government accountable, the Islamic Republic will imprison you.”

According to Hadi Ghaeemi, “This verdict demonstrates that Iran’s judicial system continuously cooperates with the government’s security apparatus to suppress opponents; Iranians seeking justice and demanding accountability are treated as enemies, while those in power and architects of the status quo enjoy complete immunity.”

The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Mostafa Nili, a lawyer, and Mehdi Mahmoudian, a civil activist, to four years in prison each, Arash Keykhosravi, a lawyer, to two years imprisonment, and Mohammad Reza Faqihi, a lawyer, to six months in prison. Maryam Afrafraze, a civil activist, was also sentenced to 95 days in prison.

Babak Paknia, one of the lawyers in the case, announced that he will definitely appeal the verdicts.

These sentences are issued at a time when the Islamic Republic of Iran is increasingly cracking down on any peaceful civil activities and preventing activists from seeking accountability from officials for their actions.

Government forces have been violently suppressing protests across the country for months and have arrested numerous civil activists and protesters, including workers and teachers.

Health Advocates Punished as Enemies of the Government

Three lawyers and two civil activists, known as the “Health Advocates,” attempted to file a complaint against senior officials of the system, including Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who prohibited imports of American and British COVID-19 vaccines into the country for political purposes. The complaint also addressed issues such as concealing the actual statistics of the number of infected persons and mortality rates of citizens due to the coronavirus outbreak, as well as mismanagement by responsible officials in dealing with this crisis.

Previously, some officials at Iran’s Ministry of Health who were involved in policymaking for the coronavirus pandemic response told The New York Times that they were constantly interrogated by security and intelligence personnel.

It should be noted that according to Article 34 of Iran’s Constitution, which states: “The right to petition is a definite right of every individual, and everyone can refer to competent courts for the purpose of seeking justice.” Essentially, the legal prosecution of those seeking justice is contrary to Iran’s Constitution.

On the other hand, it should be noted that there is no law in Iran against “intent to commit a crime,” yet the health advocates were prosecuted for “intent to file a complaint.”

Filing a complaint against government officials is also a “legal right” according to Iranian laws, but the health advocates were convicted on charges of “assembly and conspiracy against national security” and solely for holding private meetings on the social network “Clubhouse” and discussing and exchanging views about this complaint.

Moreover, the court’s verdict regarding the disbarment of two lawyers was issued while the court fundamentally lacks the legal authority to impose such disbarment (prohibition of legal practice).

Based on the court verdict, Mostafa Nili was disbarred for two years and Arash Keykhosravi for one year. This is while according to Article 17 of Iran’s Law on the Independence of the Legal Profession, only the “disciplinary courts of the Bar Association” have the authority to issue verdicts on “suspension of legal practice.”

Simultaneously with the court verdict against the health advocates, the “Human Rights Headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran” claimed in a statement that the activities of lawyers in Iran are carried out freely and without any threat from the government, and that “the prosecution of a handful of lawyers is not due to the practice of law, but because of criminal acts that have no connection to their legal profession.”

Khamenei’s Ban on Importing Western Coronavirus Vaccines Caused Serious Delays in Helping the People

The issuance of a ban on importing coronavirus vaccines manufactured by the United States and Britain by Ali Khamenei, as well as claims by Iranian officials regarding the production of domestic vaccines, exacerbated the spread of coronavirus in the country and consequently increased the death toll from the disease.

The order of the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran prohibiting the entry of vaccines into the country also applied to the COVAX project; COVAX was an international project to ensure access to coronavirus vaccines for low-income countries. However, due to the ban on importing coronavirus vaccines, government officials rejected proposals to receive vaccines from different countries.

Previously, Ali Akbar Moosavi Khoeini, a former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told the Human Rights Campaign in Iran that “due to the continuation of the ban on importing vaccines produced by the United States and Britain by Iran’s leader, the imports of Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca vaccines have faced severe and dangerous slowdowns.”

According to government statistics, as of the second day of Tir month in 1401 (June 2022), 141,377 people had lost their lives due to coronavirus. However, according to many reports, this figure is far below the actual death toll.

Hadi Ghaeemi, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, referring to the ban on importing vaccines by the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said: “The leader and senior officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran banned Western vaccine imports with political motives and in line with their conspiracy theories.”

According to Hadi Ghaeemi, “The Iranian people died due to the gross mismanagement of the government in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic crisis, and now those who attempted to hold responsible officials accountable for this tragedy must be sent to prison.”

Hadi Ghaeemi emphasized that “the international community must take a strong stance on this injustice and blatant discrimination. The international community’s approach should focus on strengthening the voice of the people and nothing else.”

Source: Human Rights Campaign Iran