This report outlines the heroic fight against Covid-19 by everyday Iranians and the lackluster response of the government that heavily affected, and aided, the spread of the disease. We hope this report will support the critical evaluation of contact tracing apps and other pandemic measures. In addition, we hope to foster a discussion of safeguards – including recourse and oversight – that will better protect marginalized and vulnerable groups during public health crises, bolster human rights, democracy, and rule of law, and strengthen the future pandemic response.
This report is broken up into several pillars. We analyze the government’s response from a public health perspective with anonymous interviews from frontline workers and public health experts. We also analyze the effectiveness of the Mask app during the initial Covid-19 response. The report also outlines threats to the nation’s political prisoners, journalists, and refugee and migrant populations, concluding with a handful of recommendations that could improve the nation’s response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Click on the link below to access the full report in PDF.