Over 20 Media Activists Infected with Coronavirus in Iran; One Journalist Dies
Following the outbreak of coronavirus in various cities across Iran and the infection of over 27,000 Iranians with the virus, reports indicate that more than 20 media activists have been infected and one journalist with the virus has died in Iran.
The Ahvaz Human Rights Organization announced on Tuesday, April 25, 2020, in a report that Mahdi Bahari, a photographer and freelance reporter who was arrested during last November’s protests and is currently being held in Ahvaz Central Prison due to his family’s inability to pay a 600 million Tomans bail, has been infected with coronavirus.
The organization, while warning about the indifference of officials at Ahvaz Central Prison to the spread of this virus and the danger to inmates’ lives in the prison, has called for the immediate release of all “political and non-dangerous prisoners” from this prison.
On the other hand, Seyed Mehrdad Seyed Mahdi, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting news agency, announced on Monday, April 24, 2020, through a post on his Twitter account that 19 journalists from this organization have been infected with coronavirus.
The International Federation of Journalists also stated in its latest report that reports received by the federation indicate the infection and quarantine of at least 5 Iranian journalists in different locations from this virus.
Also, on Monday, April 24, reports indicated the death of Abdullah Zavieh, editor of the early morning shift at the Iranian News Agency (IRNA), due to coronavirus.
By Wednesday, April 26, 2020, Islamic Republic officials had officially announced the deaths of 2,077 people. The total number of infected reached 27,017 people. These figures come as a World Health Organization official stated that the figures announced by Iranian authorities regarding coronavirus infections represent only one-fifth of actual infections. Additionally, on Monday, the Iranian regime expelled the Doctors Without Borders team, who had arrived from France in recent days and were constructing a 50-bed emergency center in Iran to care for severe cases of the new coronavirus, due to objections from several figures close to and supportive of the Islamic Republic’s leader.
The United States has repeatedly condemned mismanagement, institutionalized financial corruption, and the plundering of Iran’s assets by regime affiliates as among the main factors of Iran’s problems and the poor welfare situation of its people. Recently, for instance, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in several tweets about Islamic Republic officials, stated that instead of helping people, they have become involved in corruption.
Source: Voice of America
