Shirin Ebadi Criticizes the UN for Announcing a Memorial for Ebrahim Raisi

Despite criticisms regarding the condolences sent by countries, organizations, and international bodies for the death of Ebrahim Raisi, former President of Iran, and his accompanying delegation, the United Nations General Assembly announced that a memorial service will be held on June 1. Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and the first Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, stated in a post on her Instagram account on June 4 that this 'potential claim by the United Nations' that memorial services are reserved for the highest-ranking officials of each country is contrary to the protocols of the organization. She explained: 'The action of this UN body comes at a time when its fact-finding committee has recently classified the violence perpetrated by the Islamic Republic as a 'crime against humanity,' and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights has been reporting on widespread human rights violations in Iran for years.' This lawyer and human rights activist urged the UN Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly to recognize Ebrahim Raisi as he is referred to by the Iranian people after his death as 'the butcher of Iran' and 'the butcher of Tehran,' and not to 'mock' their own subordinate bodies, including the fact-finding committee. She pointed out that Ali Khamenei is the highest political and military authority in the Islamic Republic and wrote to the UN: 'Whenever Ali Khamenei dies,' the UN can hold 'memorials akin to those for Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Hitler.' Ms. Ebadi stated, 'The record of the Islamic Republic is much darker and more disgraceful than can be commemorated in a place where there is a trace of justice, fairness, and conscience.' Human rights activists expressed sorrow over the 'pre-trial death' of Ebrahim Raisi. Critics and opponents of the Iranian regime have referred to Ebrahim Raisi as the 'Ayatollah of Execution' or 'Ayatollah of Massacre' due to his involvement in the executions of the summer of 1988. In September 2020, a group of seven UN Special Rapporteurs wrote to the Iranian government emphasizing the need to respond regarding the executions of the 1980s, stating that 'the situation could amount to a crime against humanity.' An independent UN fact-finding mission also reported earlier this year that Raisi's government committed crimes against humanity through 'violent repression' of the protests known as 'Women, Life, Freedom' and discrimination against women. Human rights activists and exiled opposition members expressed regret over Ebrahim Raisi's death before trial for 'crimes against humanity' following the helicopter crash that led to his and his companions' deaths. Ebrahim Raisi played a role in suppressing the protests of 2009, various protests in the 2010s, and censorship of the press and the internet, although he claimed that no newspaper or website was shut down or blocked during his tenure. Amnesty International stated that the death of the former president of the Islamic Republic should not remove the demand for accountability from the victims of his 'ominous legacy.'