Complaint of 'Crimes Against Humanity' Filed Against Ebrahim Raisi Ahead of His Trip to Switzerland

A legal complaint filed on Monday calls for the arrest of Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, during his visit to Switzerland. The complaint states that Raisi should be arrested upon his arrival in Switzerland this week and charged for the purging of opponents in the late 1980s. It requests Swiss Federal Prosecutor Andreas Müller to ensure that Ebrahim Raisi is arrested and tried for his involvement in 'acts of genocide, torture, unlawful executions, and other crimes against humanity.' Raisi is set to attend the UN Global Refugee Forum starting Wednesday in Geneva. This legal complaint against Raisi, which has been seen by AFP, was filed on Monday, although the Swiss prosecutor's office did not immediately confirm receipt of the complaint. The complaint has been brought forward by three individuals who claim to be victims of the Iranian regime's repression of opponents in the 1980s. Alongside this legal action, an international campaign is underway expressing outrage at Raisi's participation in the UN Refugee Forum and calling for his prosecution. The petition states: 'Raisi was the main perpetrator of the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. His presence at the UN Forum contradicts the fundamental values of this organization.' Human rights groups have long fought for justice regarding the alleged unlawful executions of thousands of youths in the summer of 1988, just as the war with Iraq was coming to an end. Most of the victims were from leftist groups or supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which had supported Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War. Since the inception of the Islamic Republic, its leaders have begun executing opponents by killing officials from the Pahlavi monarchy. The plaintiffs who filed the complaint on Monday claim they can identify Raisi as a member of the death commission that 'executed thousands of imprisoned opponents' during the summer 1988 crackdown. The complaint states that he was serving as Deputy Attorney General of Tehran at the time and had a particular zeal for condemning prisoners to death, which distinguished him from others. The main plaintiff in the Swiss complaint is Reza Shamirani, who survived the 1988 purge. According to AFP, Raisi had asked him which group he belonged to, and when he said the People's Mojahedin, Raisi was sure that his death sentence was certain. The complaint states that Shamirani still does not know how he survived the execution. Two other plaintiffs who were in Iranian prisons in 1988 stated that they recognize Raisi as a 'member of the death commission.'