Human Rights Watch accuses Iran of crimes against humanity News
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Human Rights Watch accuses Iran of crimes against humanity

Iranian authorities’ mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 amounts to crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Wednesday.

In 1988, thousands of political prisoners were “summarily and extrajudicially executed” by Iranian authorities. The approximate number of executions is between 2,800 and 5,000.

The report highlighted that evidence shows that Iranian authorities violated the prisoner’s fundamental right to a fair judicial process by executing them without fair trials. The report further stressed on the negligence of the Iranian government in recognizing mass executions and providing information about the executed prisoners. The report also accuses Iranian authorities of seeking to silence those seeking information on these executions.

The HRW report highlights one ignominious incident where Ahmed Montazeri, the son of Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, the Deputy Supreme Leader, was convicted because he released an audiotape of senior officials talking about the coordination of the mass executions. Iran’s Special Court of Clergy sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment for spreading propaganda against the state and revealing plans and secrets. However, his imprisonment was later suspended.

The HRW report further stated that there is a lack of accountability in Iran, therefore, foreign judicial systems should take action against the mass execution. In 2022 Sweden began the trial of an Iranian national, Hamid Nouri, accused in the mass executions and a verdict is expected in July.

Tara Sepehri Far, a Senior Iran researcher at HRW, said:

For decades the families of the 1988 mass execution victims have relentlessly pursued truth and justice for their loved ones without success. Now that a trial in Sweden has put a renewed spotlight on one of the darkest chapters of Iran’s modern history, it is critical for prosecutors in other countries to pursue justice for these heinous crimes.

In the report HRW also recommends prosecuting Ebrahim Raeesi, Iran’s head of state, under universal jurisdiction laws once he is no longer in office. The former president of Chad, Hissène Habré, was prosecuted by Senegalese courts under this principle for crimes in that country in the 1980s.