James Joseph is JURIST’s Managing Editor for Lengthy Type Content material, and a Ph.D. scholar at Keele College within the UK.
On August 24, Paris, France, was the venue for a world convention sponsored by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Bloodbath in Iran (JVMI) devoted to confronting one of many darkest episodes in Iran’s historical past: the 1988 Bloodbath. The occasion, titled “Accountability for Atrocity Crimes,” drew authorized luminaries, human rights advocates, survivors, and observers from all over the world, all unified of their demand for justice and accountability for the atrocities dedicated by the Iranian regime 36 years in the past. I used to be in attendance.
The bloodbath, sometimes called the “1988 Prison Massacre,” concerned the systematic execution of 1000’s of Iranian political prisoners, primarily members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK / PMOI) opposition group, following orders from Ayatollah Khomeini. The Paris convention highlighted the necessity to carry the perpetrators of those heinous crimes to justice whereas additionally shedding mild on ongoing human rights abuses in Iran.
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, was the keynote speaker, bolstering discussions together with her management and imaginative and prescient for a democratic Iran. She pointed out that for the previous 30 weeks, political prisoners in lots of Iranian prisons have staged starvation strikes each Tuesday to protest executions, and she or he urged the members of the convention and all human rights defenders to actively have interaction within the main “No to the Death Penalty” marketing campaign.
Azadeh Zabeti opened the convention with a poignant set of remarks, setting the stage for an informative session supported by a strong video documentary from the Ashraf-3 Museum in Albania the place a number of thousand MEK members, together with almost 1000 former Iranian political prisoners, reside.
A distinguished roster of audio system enriched the convention, together with Dr. Chile Eboe-Osuji, former President of the Worldwide Felony Court docket (ICC), and Prof. Leila Nadya Sadat, an authority on crimes in opposition to humanity. The occasion additionally featured Prof. William A. Schabas, an knowledgeable in genocide research, who enriched the dialogue together with his insights.
The convention lined intensive floor, with Kenneth Lewis, the lawyer for the PMOI within the Swedish trial of Hamid Noury, and Prof. Javaid Rehman, the previous UN Particular Rapporteur on the state of affairs of human rights in Iran, offering vital analyses of the present state of human rights in Iran. Attendees heard harrowing testimonies from survivors, whose recounting of non-public losses and the brave stand of their relations underscored the urgency for justice. Central to the discussions was Professor Javaid Rehman. His latest report examined atrocity crimes all through the interval following the 1979 revolution, with an in depth concentrate on 1981-82 and the 1988 bloodbath. It meticulously documented abstract executions, torture, persecution, enforced disappearances, and sexual and gender-based crimes.
In his remarks, Prof. Steven Schneebaum of the College of Superior Worldwide Research on the Johns Hopkins College pointed to the misuse of non-existent worldwide treaties by Iran. “In a twist that the phrase ‘perverse’ is insufficient to explain, the regime has begun what it’s calling a “trial,” in absentia, of some 104 leaders and supporters of the MEK,” he stated. Portray this as an egregious misapplication of authorized ideas, he criticized Iran’s try to govern worldwide methods, reminiscent of INTERPOL’s Pink Discover course of, to persecute its political opponents overseas underneath the guise of authorized proceedings. “Our position – our responsibility – is now to make sure that the regime’s gambit doesn’t work. No authorities ought to think about for a single second sending MEK members or supporters to their deaths,” he added.
Efforts to ascertain a world framework to analyze and maintain accountable these accountable have been supported by the passionate contributions of authorized consultants reminiscent of Dr. Mark Ellis, the Govt Director of the Worldwide Bar Affiliation, Clément N. Voule, UN Particular Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceable Meeting and of Affiliation (2018-2024) and Shabnam Madadzadeh, a former Iranian political prisoner.
The occasion additionally addressed the broader context of Iran’s ongoing suppression of freedom, with a specific concentrate on the Lady, Life, Freedom Motion, which has now morphed into Lady, Resistance, Freedom, and which continues to encourage world assist for Iranian girls and women of their battle in opposition to oppression and violence.
A number of particular calls to motion have been issued, together with:
- Increasing the marketing campaign in opposition to executions in Iran: Intensifying efforts to lift consciousness and apply worldwide strain in opposition to the regime’s brutality.
- Participating within the “No to the Dying Penalty” marketing campaign: Geared toward abolishing the dying penalty in Iran and addressing its use as a device of repression.
- Establishing a world investigative and accountability mechanism: Urged by Professor Javaid Rehman, to conduct thorough and clear investigations into the crimes dedicated by the Iranian regime.
- Exercising common jurisdiction: Particular person states have been urged to provoke felony investigations in opposition to suspected perpetrators of atrocity crimes in Iran.
- Supporting the Iranian individuals’s battle for freedom and democracy: Emphasizing worldwide solidarity and assist for efforts to result in regime change and accountability.
The convention concluded by honouring the braveness and resilience of the victims, survivors, and their households, applauding the relentless efforts of the Iranian Resistance in holding the reminiscence of the 1988 Bloodbath alive whereas advocating for a liberated and democratic Iran. This meeting not solely highlighted ongoing injustices but in addition served as a major step in the direction of rallying worldwide assist for Iran’s embattled residents of their battle for an equitable future.
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Source / Picture: jurist.org
