(Video) UN Special Rapporteur Calls for International Investigation into Iranian Regime’s Atrocity Crimes and Genocide

The report states, “The specific requirements of the Genocide Convention and the challenges related to establishing genocide have already been considered."

PARIS, FRANCE, November 12, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee in an article reported that Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, has issued a final, comprehensive report calling for an international mechanism to investigate and prosecute those responsible for “atrocity crimes” committed in Iran.

These crimes include the extrajudicial killing of thousands of arbitrarily arrested prisoners during the 1980s crackdown on political dissent, with particular focus on members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (PMOI/MEK).

In his report, released in the last days of his six-year mandate, Rehman detailed the widespread and systematic attacks against civilian populations by Iranian authorities between 1979 and 1988.

He categorizes these acts as crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, persecution, and enforced disappearances.

“The authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran waged a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population according to and in furtherance of a pre-meditated and religiously motivated state policy to exterminate a large part of the political spectrum (representing different ideologies and worldviews) that were perceived as religious enemies of the theocratic rule,” Rehman stated.

Crimes Against Humanity

The report highlights the extensive and brutal campaigns of mass murder through summary, arbitrary, and extrajudicial executions, imprisonments, torture, rape, and other inhumane acts against tens of thousands of political and religious dissidents.

These acts were part of a state policy to suppress perceived enemies of the theocratic rule, encompassing a broad category of citizens including intellectuals, artists, socialists, and various political organizations. Members of the PMOI were significantly targeted during this period.

The Special Rapporteur noted that the systematic nature of these attacks is evident from the consistent patterns of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial executions documented across the country. High-level executive and judicial authorities were implicated in orchestrating these campaigns against groups perceived as anti-Islam.

Genocidal Intent

Rehman highlighted the genocidal intent behind these actions, particularly towards the PMOI. He provided substantial evidence from statements and fatwas issued by senior Iranian officials, including the Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, demonstrating a clear intent to destroy these groups.

The fatwas and official pronouncements categorized members and sympathizers of the PMOI as monafeqin (hypocrites) and murtad (apostates), justifying their extermination under religious pretexts.

The report states, “The specific requirements of the Genocide Convention and the challenges related to establishing genocide have already been considered.

Khomeini’s fatwa, a key document of the 1988 massacre, lays bare the genocidal intent in physically destroying the PMOI, which was treated as a religious group by the perpetrators. The fatwa explicitly characterizes the PMOI’s alleged religious transgressions as “waging war against God” that must be punished by execution.”

1988 Massacre

The 1988 massacre is highlighted as a particularly egregious instance of atrocity crimes, involving the systematic execution of thousands of political prisoners, predominantly PMOI members and sympathizers.

These executions were carried out following a fatwa by Ruhollah Khomeini and involved the extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance of thousands.

The victims were buried in unmarked mass graves, and their families have been denied information about their fate, constituting ongoing enforced disappearances.

Rehman stressed the need for an international investigative and accountability mechanism to address these crimes. “The continued concealment of the fate of thousands of political opponents and the whereabouts of their remains amounts to the crime against humanity of enforced disappearance,” he stated.

The Iranian regime continues to deny these atrocity crimes, and the perpetrators have not been brought to justice. Rehman emphasized that there should be no impunity for such gross human rights violations, regardless of when they were committed.

The Special Rapporteur called for an independent international investigative and accountability mechanism to advance truth, justice, and accountability for the victims.

Rehman’s tenure as Special Rapporteur concludes at the end of July, with Mai Sato from Japan set to succeed him. His comprehensive 66-page report calls for justice and accountability for the victims of these atrocities. It can be accessed on the official website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

In a recent interview with Simay Azadi TV, Javaid Rehman, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, underscored the gravity of crimes against humanity and genocide committed in the country during the 1980s. Rehman emphasized the need for a robust investigative and accountability mechanism to address these atrocities.

Rehman stated, “Between July and September 1988, thousands of political prisoners were murdered, they were exterminated. These were summary, arbitrary, and extrajudicial killings in prisons all across Iran.

There were also other violations, some continuing violations such as enforced disappearances. Because literally, thousands of people and their families [are] still unaware of what happened to their loved ones.”

He added, “The international community and UN member states, as well as civil society and other stakeholders, take notice. We need to work towards accountability and ensure that those who committed these serious crimes, which I have classified as crimes against humanity and genocide, are punished in courts of law.”

In the interview, Rehman stressed the importance of creating an investigative mechanism to look into these crimes. He pointed out that many of those responsible for the 1988 massacre and other atrocities during the early 1980s are still in positions of power within the Iranian government. “Justice must take its course, and there must be accountability to end the impunity for these individuals,” he asserted.

Rehman acknowledged the challenges in uncovering the full extent of the 1988 massacre, citing the Iranian regime’s secretive actions. “These mass killings were carried out clandestinely, and thousands were buried in mass graves.

The regime has failed to come up with any explanations. Over time, we have become aware of the gravity of the situation, particularly through the discovery of mass graves, which the regime has tried to destroy to cover up their crimes,” he explained.

Rehman also highlighted the ongoing issue of enforced disappearances, and the continued suffering of families left without answers. He called for the international community to address these violations, particularly focusing on the 1988 massacre and the early 1980s.

The Special Rapporteur expressed his hope that the UN Human Rights Council would establish a mechanism to preserve all available evidence for legal proceedings. “While I am not a court of law, I can provide the evidence based on my understanding. A judicial mechanism must be in place to examine these crimes comprehensively,” he stated.

Rehman mentioned the possibility of pursuing justice through an international tribunal, referencing the case of Hamid Noury, who was convicted in a Swedish court for his involvement in the 1988 massacre.

“Universal jurisdiction remains a very important way for holding individuals accountable, especially in a country where the rule of law and fair trials cannot be conducted. We must continue to pursue this avenue,” he concluded.

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Shahin Gobadi
NCRI
+33 6 61 65 32 31
shahin.gobadi@ncr-iran.org

The Special Rapporteur called for an independent international investigative and accountability mechanism to advance truth, and justice, for the victims