South Azerbaijani human rights activist Simin Sabri spoke to Voice of America about the coronavirus epidemic in Iran, the government's response, and the situation in the regions of Iranian Azerbaijan.
Iran is one of the countries where the coronavirus epidemic has spread the most. The United States has accused the Iranian regime of concealing information about the spread of the virus in the country.
Agreeing with the criticisms of the Iranian regime’s response to the outbreak, Simin Sabri stated that political objectives take precedence for the regime.
"This is not the first time that the Iranian regime has managed a crisis in this manner. Not long ago, just about two months ago, the downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane by the IRGC (Sepah) was shrouded in secrecy, and even their admission of it was delayed by three days. Whether they shot it down intentionally is still in question. What I mean is that the Iranian government treats this issue—the coronavirus—also as a security matter."
Simin Sabri referred to U.S. Secretary of State's special representative for Iran, Brian Hook's, criticism of the Iranian regime for "blocking information and spreading false data" about the spread of coronavirus. She pointed out the efforts in China and other countries to contain the epidemic, whereas in Iran, such measures were not taken. "This is because the regime prioritizes its own political objectives," Simin Sabri added.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Simin Səbri: İran rejimi üçün koronavirus epidemiyasında siyasi məqsədlər öndə gəlir