Narges Mohammadi's Letter to the UN Human Rights Council: The Theocratic Authoritarian Regime of the Islamic Republic Has Committed Crimes Against Humanity

Narges Mohammadi, a political activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sent a message to the UN Human Rights Council meeting on Monday, March 18, expressing gratitude to the fact-finding committee and the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, emphasizing that human rights violations are systematically, extensively, and institutionally perpetrated against the people of Iran. In her message, a copy of which was sent to Voice of America, she wrote: 'With the expansion and intensification of protests and social movements, the dimensions of the regime's violent repression are also escalating and broadening, and the regime's violence is relentless not only against opponents and protesters but also against women, religious minorities, and ethnic groups.' This women's rights activist further added: 'The malice, oppression, discrimination, executions, and killings of the people by the Islamic Republic over the past 45 years have always been employed in the most complex, deceptive, and sometimes obscure forms. The 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement and the relentless suppression of its protesters have compelled us, the people of Iran, and international and human rights organizations to fundamentally rethink how to effectively confront and address the crimes of the Islamic Republic.' In this context, Narges Mohammadi requested that the UN Human Rights Council continue the mission and activities of the fact-finding committee and the special rapporteur on human rights alongside the resistance and struggle of the Iranian people for democracy and human rights, to reveal and announce the evident and hidden dimensions of 'gender apartheid' and 'crimes against humanity' by the regime. She concluded by calling for the theocratic authoritarian regime that violates human rights and has committed crimes against humanity to be systematically and comprehensively pressured by the UN and human rights organizations worldwide. Narges Mohammadi has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned over the past three decades, and in her latest legal case, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'propaganda against the regime' and is currently in Evin Prison in Tehran. It is noteworthy that Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur monitoring the human rights situation in Iran, reported on Monday, March 18, in his final report to the UN Human Rights Council about a 43% increase in executions in 2023 and the ongoing concerning human rights situation in Iran. In part of his remarks, he referred to the arrest and harassment of civil rights activists and human rights defenders, stating: 'The harassment, threats, targeting, arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and labor union activists are extremely concerning. Narges Mohammadi, a prominent imprisoned human rights defender, suffers from severe health issues, including serious heart and lung conditions, and labor rights activists and journalists reporting on labor conditions have been imprisoned for exercising their freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.'