Fact-Finding Committee: The Death of Raisi Should Not Detract from Human Rights Violations in Iran

The head of the UN fact-finding committee described the human rights situation in Iran, especially conditions related to women, as 'dire' and warned that this issue should not be overshadowed by the death of Ebrahim Raisi. On Tuesday, June 7, Sara Hussein published an open letter urging Iran to retract its 'anti-women' laws and those limiting cyberspace. Concurrently with the funeral of Ebrahim Raisi, Amnesty International stated that the former president's death should not absolve accountability for the victims of his 'ominous legacy' of human rights abuses. Ebrahim Raisi, the eighth Islamic president, died on May 30 in a helicopter crash while returning from the inauguration of the Qiz Qaleh Dam in the Varzeqan region of East Azerbaijan Province, along with seven companions. The findings of the UN fact-finding committee regarding the repression of women in Iran indicate that he was one of four members of the death committee in the summer of 1988, during which thousands of political prisoners were executed. In another part of her open letter, Sara Hussein referred to the latest report from this committee, which states that the Islamic Republic's actions in suppressing women's protests constitute a 'serious violation of human rights' and are examples of 'crimes against humanity.' Condemning the repression of women's protests in Iran, she also called on the Islamic Republic to retract laws restricting cyberspace and the 'Hijab and Chastity' law that limits the freedom of Iranian women and girls. The head of the fact-finding committee also urged the Iranian government to recognize the equality of women and religious minorities. In December 2022, the UN Human Rights Council established a fact-finding committee regarding protests in Iran and appointed three female lawyers as members. The committee's members are tasked with documenting the suppression of protests in Iran and collecting evidence of human rights violations with the aim of identifying responsible officials and prosecuting them. Iranian officials described the establishment of this committee as a 'hostile political act.' Amnesty International's statement regarding the 'ominous legacy' of Ebrahim Raisi highlighted that the UN fact-finding committee submitted a report on Iran to the UN Human Rights Council last March. This report explicitly emphasized that 'many serious human rights violations... particularly crimes of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, harassment and persecution, enforced disappearances, and other inhumane acts... have been committed as part of a widespread and organized attack against a group of civilians, namely women and girls and other human rights defenders.' In May 2023, Human Rights Watch also reported that the security forces of the Islamic Republic tortured detainees during the suppression of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests and subjected them to sexual assault and rape. During the protests in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police, numerous reports and evidence of torture, sexual assault, and rape by the security and military forces of the Islamic Republic against protesters were published.