Meeting on 'Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre'; Javide Rahman Criticizes 'Complete Lack of Accountability' for Human Rights Violators in Iran

Javide Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, criticized the 'complete lack of accountability' for human rights violators within the constitutional framework and governance of the Islamic Republic during the meeting 'Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran.' This meeting took place on Thursday, February 15, at the Geneva Media Club in Switzerland. Rahman mentioned that the commission of crimes against humanity and immunity from prosecution have been part of Iran's judicial system and constitutional framework since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He emphasized that 'the Iranian government conceals massacres such as the execution of political prisoners in 1988 by providing false narratives, distorting historical information, harassing survivors and families of victims, and hiding the burial sites of the executed.' The UN Special Rapporteur described these cover-ups and enforced disappearances as 'crimes against humanity.' He also stated that he has consistently emphasized the need to ensure 'accountability' and end the 'judicial immunity' of the Islamic Republic in many of his reports. Raha Bahreini, a researcher at Amnesty International, also spoke at the meeting, summarizing the findings of Amnesty International's research on extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances related to the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Bahreini pointed out that the commission of crimes against humanity in the form of enforced disappearances and immunity from prosecution has continued in Iran since the early 1980s. She noted that despite the confirmed executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, the international community did not react. This issue was first reflected in 2016 in a report by Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, after several decades. During the meeting, a group of political prisoners from the 1980s and families of some of the political prisoners executed in 1988, along with several human rights experts, were present and spoke. Thousands of political prisoners in the 1980s, especially in the summer of 1988, were executed due to their support or membership in groups and organizations such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, the Tudeh Party of Iran, and the Fadaiyan Khalq (majority and minority). According to reports, the executions of the summer of 1988 were carried out under a fatwa and approval from Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, through a committee whose members he appointed. Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was also a member of the committee known as the 'Summer 1988 Massacre.' A statement from a group of 'Kahravan Families' inside Iran called for an end to the execution of 'freedom-seeking protesters.' The Human Rights Solidarity Network in Iran stated that democracy will be established with the end of the Islamic Republic. Security forces have destroyed part of the graves of political prisoners executed in the 1980s. The presence of plaintiffs in Kahravan; a 'plainclothes officer' locked the entrance against families.