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Not only does the government bear responsibility for the death of Mahsa Amini. According to UN expert Javaid Rehman, they reacted to the wave of protests that followed with kidnappings, torture or rapes.
To this day, the Iranian regime denies having killed the Kurdish woman Masha Amini in police custody in September 2022. But now Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on Iran, says he has evidence of the murder.
He presented the evidence to the UN Human Rights Council this week. The Pakistani-British international law professor sees the mastermind behind the murder of the young woman, who is said to have violated dress codes, at the very top of Iran’s government. “She was a victim of state violence, her death was not an accident.”
Iranian leadership brutally crushes protests
“I have witness statements, oral and written material from the families of those killed, and medical reports to support this,” Rehman said.
In Tehran, however, they refuse to clarify the matter. The same applies to the mass executions that have taken place since Mahsa Amini’s arrest. The UN Special Rapporteur speaks of more than 500 executions in the past year and more than 140 since the beginning of the year. In addition, there were at least 527 killings, mainly of demonstrators.
Legend:
UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman presenting his findings in Geneva (03/21/23).
KEYSTONE/Salvatore Di Nolfi
The extent is so serious, the system so obvious that one must speak of crimes against humanity. It is also obvious that the mullahs are particularly targeting women and girls. Rehman emphasizes that shots are often taken at their genitals. It is clearly state violence ordered from above and not individual attacks by lower ranks. In addition to the murders, there are numerous arbitrary arrests, abductions, torture and rapes.
Tehran should know that the world is not just watching
Jawad Rahman has been UN Special Rapporteur for almost five years. However, he has never been allowed to visit Iran, nor have his predecessors in office. Tehran refuses him entry.
Nevertheless, he managed to get more than enough material to document the human rights crimes. According to Rehman, a large network of sources in the country itself and among Iranian exiles is crucial. A good part of the crimes can even be proven with official documents, with published laws and instructions. “The state itself is one of my most important sources.” For example, there is a law that allows the execution of children: a clear human rights crime.
Mahsa Amini was a victim of state violence, her death not an accident.
The special rapporteur would like to enter into a dialogue with the Iranian leadership, but they refuse. Instead, she attacks him and his reports in the strongest possible terms. However, Rehman is convinced that it is extremely important for the Iranian people that what the regime is doing is documented and published by an independent authority. It would be bitter for many if the world public ignored the suffering.
That is why Rahman is also in favor of sanctions against Iran. The EU and the UK recently tightened them up. However, the Swiss Federal Council does not want to agree. “Sanctions may not bring about immediate changes: but they are an element of expressing displeasure with the regime and thus exerting pressure.”