A group of Iranian political activists including prominent lawyers, journalists and former lawmakers have issued a statement blaming the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, without naming him, for his "despotic" decision to ban importing American and British Covid-19 vaccines, which has led to the additional deaths of thousands of Iranians.

The political activists said in the statement that "thousands of Iranians have died because of mismanagement in disease control and the government's suppression, corruption and the personal decision “of the head of the regime” to ban the import of vaccines."

Khamenei officially banned the import of US and UK vaccines during a public address in January, including purchase through the World Health Organization’s Covax facility. “They can’t be relied on and trusted,” Khamenei said, in a video released on Friday January 8, adding that  “Sometimes they want to test their products on other nations…Importing the American and British vaccines is banned.”

The activists charged that Khamenei's decision has led to a nationwide mourning for those who died as a result of unavailability of vaccines, and called for putting senior Iranian officials on trial at "a competent and independent court" for causing the death of tens of thousands of Iranians. They also called for the trial of those who inadvertently contributed to those deaths.

Covid infections and deaths have soared since early July and Iran’s daily death numbers broke the record twice this week. Hospitals are full to capacity and many families have to pay exorbitant prices for medications.

The activists said that although such an expectation may not be within reach at the time being, but history promises justice. Their statement read: "We are in a situation in which the voice of the victims and mourners is echoing in various ways, marking a sense of captivity in an authoritarian system that has been sacrificing people's safety for political games." 

The signatories of the statement that was published on August 17 by Kaleme website, are mostly supporters of former prime minister Mir Hossein Musavi who has been under house arrest in Iran since 2011 for leading massive demonstrations against the disputed 2009 presidential election. They include prominent reformist journalists Alireza Rajaei and Bahman Amoui and reformist human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, as well as Abolfazl Ghadiani, a former revolutionary who has become a fierce Khamenei critic.

The statement emphasized that "The despotic and suppressive approach to governance, as well as taking advantage of religion and promoting superstition have held the nation hostage," adding that "mismanagement of disease control has led to nationwide mourning for the loss of thousands of Iranians."

Health mnistry’s official figure for total deaths so far is around 100,000, but the Majles Research Center has said the actual death numbers are two to three times higher.

The statement observed that a top official, meaning Khamenei, has banned the import of vaccines, and lower-ranking officials ignored their professional oath as medical doctors and blindly obeyed the unreasonable order.

The statement also maintained that Iranian officials first denied the existence of the virus and ridiculed those who warned against it. They even returned medical aid sent by Reporters without Borders. Finally, the pandemic forced officials to accept it after the disease was widespread in Iran. "It was at this stage that they promised to develop vaccines in Iran, a process marked by deadly illusion and corruption based on revelations made by officials from within the government."

The activists called on the government to provide the medical means required to control the pandemic and prevent religious gatherings during the current month of Muharram and be accountable for the wrongdoings that led to a national crisis.