Lawmakers Urge Switzerland to Keep Open File on Assassination of Prof. Kazem Rajavi

Written by
Mahmoud Hakamian
The Italian Committee of Parliamentarians for a Free Iran and Australian Supporters of Democracy in Iran, in two separate letters to the Swiss government, condemned Switzerland decision to close the assassination case of Prof. Kazem Rajavi.

Professor Kazem Rajavi, Iran’s first ambassador to the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland after the 1979 revolution, Professor at the Geneva University for 10 years, renowned human rights activist and representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Switzerland, was gunned down by the Iranian regime’s mercenaries and assassins on April 24, 1990, in Geneva.

The Swiss prosecutor announced last week that charges against 14 individuals involved in the assassination of Prof. Kazem Rajavi will exceed the statute of limitations on June 17, and later changed the date to July 31. As the Iranian Resistance previously said: “For the Iranian people, this was a clear example of justice slipping through their fingers, and a bitter reminder of the Iranian regime’s impunity in matters of human rights and international relations.”

The Swiss decision was met with international condemnation by renowned political figures on both sides of the Atlantic and human rights activists and organizations.

 

The two letters below are the most recent positions in this regard:

Letter by Australian Supporters of Democracy in Iran
June 14, 2020,

Eric Cottier,
Procureur général du canton de Vaud Place du Château 4

1014 Lausanne Switzerland

Urgent call to continue prosecution of suspects in assassination of Iranian resistance representative Prof Kazem Rajavi

Dear Sir,

Our association was formed in 2004 to support the democratic movement in Iran. We are writing to express our strongest protest at your recent announcement that the case against 14 of those accused of the assassination of Professor Kazem Rajavi will be closed on June 17, 2020, purportedly under a statute of limitations.

On the contrary, the assassins of Professor Kazem Rajavi must be put on trial in Switzerland with all the vigour that your office can muster.

On April 24, 1990, terrorists dispatched by Tehran assassinated Professor Rajavi, brother of Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Iranian Resistance and the Representative of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Switzerland as well as its representative in the European Headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. He was assassinated in the suburbs of Geneva. Prof. Rajavi was one of the most prominent human rights advocates of his time.

The decision to close the file is an insult to justice and a violation of democratic and human rights values, prompted by a political expediency that will only encourage the religious fascism ruling Iran to carry out further assassinations with impunity.

On March 20, 2006, the investigative Judge in the county of VAUD, ordered the arrest of then- Iranian Minister of Intelligence, Ali Fallahian, for his complicity in the assassination. According to documents and reports from the NCRI, in addition to Fallahian, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, then-Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and Hassan Rouhani, at the time Khamenei’s representative on the regime’s Supreme National Security Council and the council’s secretary, were involved in this assassination and those of many other dissidents abroad. Courts in Germany and Argentina have issued international arrest warrants for a number of them.

The arrest warrant of Ali Fallahian reads: “The execution of Kazem Rajavi was carefully planned. Commando teams first came to Switzerland in October 1989, then in late January and early February 1990, and finally from April 10 to 24, 1990………………………………… Investigations revealed that 13 people were involved in

the preparation and execution of the murder. The thirteen had Iranian service passports with ‘on mission’ mark engraved on them. Some of these documents were issued simultaneously in Tehran on the same day All Iranian service passports were issued only by order of the ministry under the

leadership of Ali Fallahian, and were confiscated at the same airport when the perpetrators returned to Iran. All of the service passports of the 13 people whose names were mentioned above were issued in Karim Khan, a street in Tehran. Two buildings on this street are the headquarters of a section of Iran’s intelligence service, Vavak.”

Terrorism and crimes against humanity are not subject to the statute of limitations, particularly in the case of a regime in which one ambassador and six diplomats have been expelled for participating in assassination attempts against dissidents in the past two years alone, and another diplomat has been in jail in Belgium for nearly two years for his criminal plot to bomb a large gathering of Iranians in Paris on June 30, 2018.

Economic deals and political considerations never justify concessions to terrorism.

We therefore call on the President of the Swiss Confederation, the Foreign and Justice ministers as well as the Attorney General and the prosecutor of the county of Vaud and other Swiss officials to issue international arrest warrants for those who are known to have ordered and committed this crime, and, if necessary, to put them on trial in absentia so that justice is done.

We call on all human rights advocates, parliamentarians, and civil society in Switzerland to call on the authorities to continue to pursue justice in this file.

The prosecution of criminals is the best way to deal with terrorism; closing this file facilitates and promotes more terrorism.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Meredith Burgmann

Committee Member

Peter Murphy

Co-Secretary

Cc Michael Lauber, le Procureur général de la Confédération en exercice; Karin Keller-Suter, Minister for Justice; Simonetta Sommaruga, President of Switzerland; Ignazio Cassis, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Switzerland; Frank Schürmann; UN Secretary-General; UN Special Rapporteur on Iran; Foreign Minister Senator Marise Payne; DFAT Desk; Senator Penny Wong; Adam Bandt MHR, Andrew Wilkie MHR; Julia Dean

 

Italian Committee of Parliamentarians for a Free Iran

Appello

La protesta dei parlamentari italiani alla decisione della procura di Svizzera a chiudere il fascicolo dell’assassinio del Prof. Kazem Rajavi

Roma 15 Giugno 2020

Siamo rimasti scioccati nell’apprendere che la Procura della contea di Vaud in Svizzera ha deciso di chiudere presto il fascicolo relativo all’assassinio del professor Kazem Rajavi. Terroristi inviati da Teheran assassinarono il professor Rajavi, fratello del leader della Resistenza iraniana Massoud Rajavi, rappresentante del Consiglio Nazionale della Resistenza dell’Iran (CNRI) in Svizzera nonché suo rappresentante nel quartier generale europeo delle Nazioni Unite a Ginevra, alla periferia di Ginevra il 24 aprile 1990. Il professor Rajavi era uno dei più importanti sostenitori dei diritti umani. La decisione di chiudere il fascicolo è un insulto alla giustizia e una violazione dei valori democratici e dei diritti umani, in nome di un opportunismo politico che incoraggia il fascismo religioso al potere in Iran a compiere ulteriori omicidi impunemente.

Il 20 marzo 2006 il giudice investigativo nella contea di Vaud ordinò l’arresto dell’allora ministro dell’Intelligence iraniano Ali Fallahian per la sua complicità nell’assassinio. Secondo documenti e rapporti del CNRI, oltre a Fallahian, Ali Khamenei, il leader supremo del regime iraniano, l’allora ministro degli Esteri Ali Akbar Velayati e Hassan Rouhani, all’epoca rappresentante di Khamenei nel Consiglio Supremo di Sicurezza Nazionale del regime e Segretario del Consiglio stesso, furono coinvolti in questo omicidio e in quelli di molti dissidenti all’estero. I tribunali di Germania e Argentina hanno emesso mandati di arresto internazionali per numerosi di tali casi.

Il mandato di arresto di Ali Fallahian recita: “L’esecuzione di Kazem Rajavi fu pianificata con cura. Le squadre del commando arrivarono in Svizzera nell’ottobre 1989, poi alla fine di gennaio e all’inizio di febbraio del 1990 e infine dal 10 al 24 aprile 1990 […]. Le indagini hanno rivelato che 13 persone furono coinvolte nella preparazione e nell’esecuzione dell’omicidio. I tredici avevano passaporti di servizio iraniani con il marchio “in missione” stampato. Alcuni di questi documenti erano stati rilasciati simultaneamente a Teheran nello stesso giorno […]. I passaporti di servizio iraniani erano stati rilasciati solo per ordine del ministero sotto la guida di Ali Fallahian e furono confiscati nello stesso aeroporto quando gli esecutori tornarono in Iran. Tutti i passaporti di servizio delle 13 persone i cui nomi sono stati menzionati sopra erano stati rilasciati in Via Karim Khan a Teheran. Due edifici in questa strada sono il quartier generale di una sezione del servizio di intelligence iraniano, Vavak”.

Il terrorismo e i crimini contro l’umanità non sono soggetti a prescrizione, in particolare nel caso di un regime in cui un ambasciatore e sei diplomatici sono stati espulsi per aver partecipato a tentativi di omicidio contro dissidenti solo negli ultimi due anni, e un altro diplomatico è stato in carcere in Belgio per quasi due anni per il suo complotto criminale per attaccare con esplosivi un grande raduno di iraniani a Parigi il 30 giugno 2018.

Gli accordi economici e le considerazioni politiche non giustificano mai i cedimenti al terrorismo. Rivolgiamo pertanto un appello al Presidente della Confederazione Svizzera, ai ministri degli Affari Esteri e della Giustizia, nonché al Procuratore Generale e al Procuratore della contea di Vaud e alle altre autorità svizzere competenti affinché siano emessi mandati di arresto internazionali per coloro che sono noti come mandanti e autori materiali di questo crimine e, se necessario, essi siano processati in contumacia perché sia fatta giustizia.

Rivolgiamo un appello a tutti i difensori dei diritti umani, ai parlamentari e alla società civile in Svizzera affinché chiedano alle autorità di continuare a perseguire la giustizia su questo caso.

L’azione penale contro i criminali è il modo migliore per affrontare il terrorismo; la chiusura di questo fascicolo facilita e promuove più terrorismo.

Comitto Italiano Parlamentari per Iran Libero

Firmatari:

Sen. Lucio Malan

Sen. Roberto Rampi

Sen. Mino Taricco

On. Stefania Pezzopane

On. Antonio Tasso

Former parlamentari:

Sen. Giorgio Bornacin

Sen. Pietro Liuzzi

Sen. Antonio Razzi

On. Carlo Ciccioli

On. Mariano Rabino

On. Nicola Ciraci

On. Eleonora Cimbro

On. Elisabetta Zamparutti

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