LONDON: More than 20 human rights organizations have signed a letter urging the Iranian government to release three activists who sounded the alarm over Tehran’s mismanagement of the country’s COVID-19 crisis.
Among the groups that signed the joint statement were Washington-based Human Rights Watch and the Project on Middle East Democracy, as well as various groups dedicated to fighting for minority rights in Iran.
They wrote: “We, the undersigned civil society and human rights organisation, call for the immediate release of prominent human rights defenders Mehdi Mahmudian, Arash Kikhosravi and Mustafa Neeli, who have been arbitrarily detained by Iranian authorities since August 14, 2021. “
He was arrested, rights groups said, “as he prepared to file a complaint against the country’s national task force against the coronavirus, which included the health minister and other officials dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.” were responsible for the mismanagement of the
The pandemic has ravaged Iran as wave after wave swept through the country, which has struggled to vaccinate its population.
One of the issues Iranian people have faced during the pandemic was a decree issued by Khamenei that banned British and American-made vaccines from entering the country, effectively leaving many defenseless in the face of the virus. they were finished.
The human rights organization said: “With a total of more than 128,000 deaths since the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials have failed to provide details of their plans for domestic vaccine production and have repeatedly changed policies on vaccine imports.” Have given.”
The letter continued: “Iranian citizens are expressing their anger on social media over the government’s mismanagement, lack of transparency, and unclear vaccination policies during the first six months of 2021. In their unfinished complaint, Mahmudian, Nili and Kikhosarwi have claimed countless lives.” The sentiment echoed Irani, arguing that officials who delayed vaccine production and imports were responsible for the worsening health consequences of the pandemic.”
Journalists Mahmoudian and human rights lawyers Nili and Kikhosarvi are currently on trial for “corruption of the public order”.
Human rights groups expressed concern about the conditions facing the three activists in prison after a letter sent in October this year detailing the human rights violations they experienced during their stay in prison, including more than a month. Long-term solitary confinement was involved.
“The Iranian government must immediately and unconditionally release the three arbitrarily detained human rights defenders and drop all charges,” the letter concluded: “We wish to serve as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. as well as calling on the member states of the Human Rights Council to take up their cases with the Iranian government at the highest level.”
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