Judiciary of the Islamic Republic Files Charges Against 89 Citizens Five Years After November 2019 Protests

Five years after the nationwide protests of November 2019, which were violently suppressed by the Iranian government, the prosecutor's office in the city of Likak in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province has opened new cases against 89 detainees who had been released on bail and sent their files to court. According to HRANA, the news agency of human rights activists in Iran, a document containing the names and details of the charges against these citizens was published, stating that they were found guilty in a "joint case" by the first branch of the "Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office" in Likak and their cases were sent to court. The first branch of the "Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office" in Likak, presided over by Mehrdad Soltani, has deemed these citizens guilty by attributing charges such as "disturbing public order and tranquility" and "destruction and arson" of state property. The deputy prosecutor has claimed that the evidence of the guilt of these 89 individuals includes "visual reports from the police" and "dozens of pages of reports from the intelligence department of Bahmai." Mehrdad Soltani has relied on the "confessions of the accused," which are unclear under what conditions they were obtained, to issue arrest warrants for these individuals. The widespread and bloody protests of 2019 began on November 15 with the sudden announcement of a gasoline price hike in various cities across Iran and faced severe repression from government forces. Amnesty International reported that over 300 people were killed in those protests, while Reuters reported approximately 1,500 deaths due to the actions of the Islamic Republic's government forces. Iranian government officials also arrested a large number of protesters, sentencing many to long-term imprisonment or execution. The Islamic Republic of Iran has "undoubtedly" committed "crimes against humanity." The November International Court, established in 2021 in two phases to investigate the Iranian government's actions against protesters in November 2019, issued its final ruling in 2022, stating that the government and security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have "undoubtedly" committed "crimes against humanity." According to the issued ruling, the Islamic Republic is responsible for human rights violations including "freedom of assembly; the right to life; the right to personal liberty and security; the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance; the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including sexual violence and rape; the right to access justice; the right to dignity, including the dignity of the deceased." The judges of this court also unanimously concluded based on a collection of findings that "without a doubt" the government and security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran "committed crimes against humanity including murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, and sexual violence in order to suppress protests and cover up the crimes committed." Furthermore, the vast majority of the judges concluded that "this criminal scheme included crimes against humanity of persecution" and that protesters and bystanders were targeted, with their rights severely restricted or denied. The judges also referred to a list of 160 individuals identified by the prosecutor's office as "perpetrators of crimes against humanity in November 2019 in Iran," concluding that 13 of these individuals "likely played a significant role in planning and executing the criminal scheme to commit crimes against humanity... and are therefore criminally responsible." Among these 13 individuals are Ali Khamenei, Hassan Rouhani, Ali Shamkhani, Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Salami, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, and Leila Vaezi. The ruling recommended that the Islamic Republic of Iran conduct "independent, impartial, transparent investigations in accordance with international standards" regarding "human rights violations and crimes against humanity" during the November 2019 protests and to prosecute all individuals reasonably suspected of human rights violations during the protests based on the court's findings. The judges also separately urged the international community to impose targeted individual sanctions on "those responsible for violations and crimes related to the November 2019 protests" to "assist in holding perpetrators accountable and compensating victims." Additionally, the UN Security Council was requested to refer "this situation along with a council resolution passed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to the International Criminal Court." The November People's International Court was established at the initiative of three organizations: "Justice for Iran," "Human Rights in Iran," and the international organization "Together Against the Death Penalty" in response to the demands of the families of victims and survivors of the November 2019 protests. The Persian section of Voice of America fully covered both rounds of this court held in London.