2023-08-21 01:13:00
Copy: AI
Families of victims of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces during the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” uprising must be able to commemorate the first anniversary of these deaths; This was stated today by Amnesty International, while the Iranian authorities intensify their campaign of harassment and intimidation against relatives of the victims to impose silence and impunity.
In the new research published today, Amnesty International explains in detail that the Iranian authorities have long subjected relatives of the victims to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposed harsh restrictions on peaceful gatherings at grave sites and destroyed the victims’ tombstones. Not a single public official has been held accountable for the unlawful killing of hundreds of men, women, boys and girls by security forces during the authorities’ brutal repression of the popular uprising in which Iran was immersed following the death under custody of Mahsa (or Zhina) Amini on 16 September 2022. Amnesty International considers the mental suffering and anguish inflicted on bereaved families through the abusive practices of the authorities to be in violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment established in international law.
“The cruelty of the Iranian authorities knows no bounds. In the sinister attempt to hide its crimes, the government compounds the anguish and suffering of the families of the victims by preventing them from demanding justice., truth and claim, or even plant flowers on the graves of their loved ones. As the anniversary of the uprising approaches, relatives of the victims fear that the authorities will deploy their usual repressive tactics to prevent them from holding the commemorations,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“The international community must support the families of the victims by pressing the Iranian authorities, both in public and in private, to respect the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. These families must be protected against arbitrary detention, threats and other reprisals. States should also call on the Iranian authorities to release all those detained for advocating for truth and justice in these deaths, vacate all convictions and sentences imposed on them, and withdraw all charges filed against those who face retaliation for speaking out.”
In its most recent publication, Amnesty International has documented the cases of 36 families of victims from 10 provinces across the country who have suffered human rights violations in recent months. These are the families of 33 people unlawfully killed by security forces during the protests, the families of 2 people who were arbitrarily executed in connection with the protests, and the family of a torture survivor who committed suicide after being released.
Among the human rights violations committed against the families of the victims are arbitrary detention; unfair prosecutions for false and inaccurate accusations related to national security, which, in some cases, led to prison terms and flogging; the summons and coercive interrogation of these people by the prosecution or security forces; and their subjection to illegitimate surveillance or the vandalization of the graves of their loved ones.
In July 2023, the mother of 16-year-old Artin Rahmani, who was shot dead by security forces on 16 November 2022 in Izeh, Khuzestan province, said on Twitter: “The authorities of the Islamic Republic they killed my son, who was innocent; they imprisoned my brother and several relatives; and they summoned me to the prosecutor’s office for the crime of asking for justice for the murder of my son, in order to silence me. Iranian citizens have no right to protest, and any initiative to demand freedom is repressed with great violence.”
The authorities have also tried to prevent relatives of victims from holding ceremonies at the graves of their loved ones, even on their birthdays. The families that defied the circumstances and came together have denounced the strong presence of the security forces, which violently repressed the ceremonies by taking photographs of the people present and beating or arbitrarily detaining some relatives.
Amnesty International documented and published images showing the damage to the graves of more than 20 victims in 17 cities. Graves have been damaged with tar, paint or arson, tombstones have been broken, and lapidary phrases describing the victims as “martyrs” or stating that they had died for the cause of freedom have been forced to be erased. . The authorities have not carried out investigations to identify the persons allegedly criminally responsible for these crimes and bring them to justice, nor have they taken measures to prevent a repeat of the acts of destruction of the graves.
Some of the graves were damaged by security forces in the presence of relatives; and others, during the night or at times when no one was present, after the authorities repeatedly threatened to destroy the tombstones that illustrated expressions of support for the “Mujer, Vida, Libertad” uprising or contained poetic phrases indicating that the victims had suffered an unnatural death, caused by political oppression.
In April 2023, the sister of Milad Saeedianjoo, who was shot dead by security forces in Izeh, Khuzestan province, on November 15, 2022, said on Instagram: “To the person who, on my birthday, brother, he grabbed my hair, tortured me with a club and trampled on my brother’s grave before my eyes, I ask him: What sentence have you passed on yourself for all this? It has become clear to me who murdered my brother. Our family has not filed a complaint with the Iranian courts, because it was useless to go to the murderer to denounce the murderer.”
Mahsa (or Zhina) Amini’s family has publicly denounced the repeated damage to her grave. The authorities have announced that they plan to make major changes to the Saqqez cemetery (Kurdistan province), where the young woman is buried, so that her grave is less accessible to the public. That grave has become a place where families of victims of unlawful killings during protests come together to find collective solace and solidarity, and signal their determination to seek justice.
The families of the victims have suffered reprisals for publicly condemning or formally denouncing the unlawful killing of their loved ones at the hands of the security forces, questioning the official statements about these deaths, demanding that they assume responsibilities, holding family meetings of the people deceased, and write messages on social networks that are considered critical of the authorities.
“In the face of systematic impunity in Iran, Amnesty International calls on all states to exercise the principle of universal jurisdiction and issue arrest warrants against Iranian officials – including those with command responsibility – against whom there are reasonable suspicions of responsibility. in crimes under international law committed during and after the uprising,” added Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
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