Iran: Online Conference: The 1988 Massacre as a Manifest Case of Crimes Against Humanity
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Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
NCRI logoEbrahim Raisi must be held accountable
Relatives of the massacred MEK members and supporters file lawsuit in the UK against Ebrahim Raisi, the henchman of the 1988 massacre
On Thursday, June 24, 2021, at an online news conference, Mr. Geoffrey Robertson, former President of the Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal, Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., former US Assistant Secretary of State, Mr. Nick Fluke, President Emeritus of the Law Society of England and Wales, and Mr. Tahar Boumedra, a former chief of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq, emphasized that the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in 1988 was a manifest case of a crime against humanity and called for the prosecution of Ibrahim Raisi.
At the conference, it was announced that the lawyers of the relatives of the massacred Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI) members and supporters are filing a lawsuit with the legal authorities in the UK and other European countries against Ibrahim Raisi, the henchman of the 1988 massacre, and will begin the necessary legal process to prosecute him.
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Mr. Reza Fallahi, a former political prisoner imprisoned from 1981 to 1991, recounted his experiences in prison and torture chambers and spoke about the 1988 massacre. He called for the prosecution of Ebrahim Raisi and other regime leaders for crimes against humanity.
Referring to the role of Raisi in the 1988 massacre, Geoffrey Robertson, said that an issue that goes beyond state immunity is a crime against humanity, and no one can escape justice for a crime against humanity on the pretext that he holds a government position. Mr. Robertson called the 1988 massacre a flagrant example of genocide. He reminded Raisi’s comments in his first press conference, in which he prided himself for his role in the massacre. Citing his own investigation into the 1988 massacre, Robertson emphasized that Raisi had played a direct and serious role in the executions.
Nick Fluke stated that as long as this regime is in power, it is impossible to prosecute the perpetrators of this crime. Therefore, the international community cannot remain silent in this regard. Mr. Fluke added that he has asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate evidence of crimes subject to universal jurisdiction to prosecute Raisi in the United Kingdom.
Ambassador Bloomfield said the reason for appointing Raisi as the president was that he was Khamenei’s most loyal servant. He pointed to Raisi’s key role in suppressing, issuing prison terms and torture of those arrested during the November 2019 uprising and stressed the need for a comprehensive policy on all of the regime’s crimes against both the Iranian people and the international community. Noting the stated policy of the current US administration that underlines the importance of human rights in its foreign policy, Bloomfield said that Iran’s appalling human rights violations must be front and center in any policy on Iran.
Tahar Boumedra, the former chief of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq and the coordinator of “Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran (JVMI), pointed to the initiative of 150 former United Nations rapporteurs, human rights experts, and former cabinet Ministers who urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre. Mr. Boumedra pointed out that the inaction by the international community and political considerations have caused the continuation of the mullahs’ crimes in Iran. Recalling the letter from seven UN Special Rapporteurs calling for an independent inquiry into the 1988 massacre and an end to the state immunity for the perpetrators of this crime against humanity, he said that the JVMI had done everything possible to bring to account Ebrahim Raisi, and other perpetrators of the 1988 crimes against humanity.
Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI’s Foreign Affairs Committee, referred to the widespread boycott of the elections masquerade by the Iranian people and added that less than 10% of the eligible voters had cast their ballots. This figure, he said, was based on reports from more than 1,200 Simaye-Azadi TV reporters (The satellite TV Channel affiliated with the Iranian opposition) in 429 cities and over 3,500 video clips, as well as numerous reports from thousands of polling stations. He reiterated that “Raisi is one of the worst criminals against humanity in modern times and is, in reality, the poster child of the religious tyranny which rules Iran today.” “Raisi’s presidency reflects the extent of Khamenei’s desperation in the face of an explosive society,” Safavi said.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
June 25, 2021
Iran: Online Conference: The 1988 Massacre as a Manifest Case of Crimes Against Humanity