Human Rights Watch: Mismanagement and lack of transparency have exacerbated the Corona crisis in Iran
Human Rights Watch warned in a statement on Thursday that the government's ban on the purchase of American and British vaccines, along with a lack of transparency and mismanagement by officials, has exacerbated the severity of the coronavirus pandemic in Iran.
In its statement released on Thursday, August 19, the human rights organization called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to increase their efforts to respond effectively to the coronavirus crisis, including by using all possible resources to provide vaccines and providing accurate and transparent information about ways to combat the disease.
The statement also noted that government officials in Iran have blamed the slow vaccination rollout on sanctions, as well as delays by foreign vendors, but have "not provided clear evidence to support this claim."
In recent months, as the coronavirus outbreak has surged again in Iran, unprecedented records have been set for the number of deaths and infections in Iran. For more than two weeks, the number of infected people has been increasing by about 40,000 daily and the number of deaths by more than 500 daily.
It was only after the coronavirus crisis escalated in the country that the Islamic Republic's leader agreed, after eight months, to authorize the procurement of vaccines "in any way possible." He had previously explicitly banned the purchase of American and British vaccines.
“Iranians are expressing their anger at the incompetence and lack of transparency of the authorities in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, which is costing an Iranian life every few minutes,” said Tara Sepehrifar, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, on Thursday.
Referring to the importance of "public trust in managing the public health crisis," Ms. Sepehr-e Far considered the Iranian government's mismanagement of the Corona crisis to be a repetition of the Islamic Republic's actions in similar cases in the past.
The intensification of the Corona crisis due to the lack of medical facilities, medicine, and oxygen, and the pressure on medical staff, has led to widespread criticism among citizens, experts, and even officials, many of whom consider the late action to purchase the vaccine to be the reason for the recent crisis and are demanding that officials be held accountable for this.
In this regard, political activist Mehdi Mahmoudian and attorneys Mostafa Nili, Arash Keykhosravi, Mohammadreza Faghihi, Maryam Faraafraz, and Leila Heidari were arrested on August 13 for "holding a meeting to complain about some officials regarding the coronavirus."
Ms. Heydari was released on Sunday, August 14, but the others remain in detention.
Referring to the names of these detainees, Human Rights Watch emphasizes that the authorities of the Islamic Republic cannot shirk their responsibility to combat the coronavirus by projecting or blaming sanctions.
Source: Radio Farda
