Iran

Stop executions in Iran

Open letter to world leaders – Act now to stop execution of protesters in Iran

January 1, 2023

OPEN LETTER To: Joe Biden, President of the United StatesCharles Michel, President of the European CouncilRishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United KingdomJustin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada Copy: Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 21 December 2022 Excellencies,We write to request that your nations set up a joint accountability mechanism for rapid …

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242 human rights experts call for firm position on Iran, including sanctions, to stop execution of protesters

January 1, 2023

More than 240 current and former United Nations officials, judges, human rights experts, Nobel laureates, and NGOs in an open letter on Wednesday called on world leaders to step up pressure on Iran to halt the execution of anti-government protesters, including by imposing sanctions on its officials for human rights abuses, expelling Iranian ambassadors and …

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68 Belgian and international human rights and legal experts urge Belgium not to free Iran’s convicted diplomat Assadollah Assadi

September 28, 2022

Press Release Dozens of Belgian and international human rights and legal experts sent an open letter to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo today urging the government of Belgium not to free convicted Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for attempting to bomb an international summit. The open letter has been …

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WGEID supports international investigation into Iran’s 1988 massacre

September 6, 2022

The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has repeated its support for an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran in its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council. WGEID’s report to the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, A/HRC/51/31, dated 12 August 2022, states: …

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UN High Commissioner welcomes “historic conviction” of perpetrator of Iran’s 1988 massacre

September 7, 2022

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has welcomed the “historic conviction” of former Iranian prison guard Hamid Noury in Sweden for his role in the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran. She urged states to use “universal jurisdiction” to bridge the “accountability gap” for serious crimes and ensure truth …

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Hamid Noury

JVMI welcomes Hamid Noury verdict, urges states to prosecute Ebrahim Raisi for his role in Iran’s 1988 massacre

September 7, 2022

Finally, after more than nine months and 92 sessions, Stockholm’s District Court in Sweden handed down its landmark judgement and sentenced former Iranian prison official Hamid Noury to life imprisonment for his role in the 1988 massacre. JVMI welcomes this long-awaited act of justice which should serve as a guiding precedent to the international community …

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JVMI Warns of New Measures to Destroy Evidence of Iran’s 1988 Massacre at Khavaran Mass Grave

June 1, 2022

Families of the victims of the 1988 massacre in Iran have informed JVMI of new measures by the Iranian authorities at the site of a mass grave in Khavaran cemetery, south of Tehran, aimed at destroying evidence of the massacre. As part of the attempt to destroy the mass grave, the authorities have erected a …

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UN Special Rapporteur, Member States call for accountability over Iran’s 1988 massacre at the Human Rights Council

April 12, 2022

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday appealed to the international community to support accountability for the 1988 enforced disappearances and summary and arbitrary executions in Iran. Presenting his latest report (A/HRC/49/75) to the annual UN Human Rights Council session on Iran on …

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Remarks by Prof. Annalisa Ciampi at online conference on Iran on sidelines of 49th Session of UN Human Rights Council – 28 February 2022

March 9, 2022

The following is the text of remarks by Prof. Annalisa Ciampi at an online conference by international human rights experts and NGOs on 28 February 2022, appealing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to launch an inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran: Thank you very much, …

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Remarks by Prof. Stefan Trechsel at online conference on Iran on sidelines of 49th Session of UN Human Rights Council – 28 February 2022

March 9, 2022

The following is the text of remarks by Prof. Stefan Trechsel at an online conference by international human rights experts and NGOs on 28 February 2022, appealing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to launch an inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran: Dear friends, I am …

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Reuters: UN urged to open query into Iran’s 1988 killings and Raisi role

February 2, 2022

Reuters news agency carried a report about an open letter sent to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council seeking an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The open letter, organised by JVMI, has been …

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Le Figaro : L’ONU appelée à enquêter sur un massacre en Iran en 1988

February 2, 2022

French daily Le Figaro published a report about an open letter sent to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council seeking an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The open letter, organised by JVMI, has …

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EFE: Piden a la ONU investigar la masacre de opositores iraníes en 1988

February 2, 2022

The Spanish news agency EFE carried a report about an open letter sent to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council seeking an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The open letter, organised by JVMI, …

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Arab News: Rights Experts, Jurists, Politicians Urge UN to Probe 1988 Iran Massacre

February 2, 2022

Arab News daily published a report about an open letter sent to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council seeking an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The open letter, organised by JVMI, has been …

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Iran’s Judiciary Imprisons Activists and Relatives of Victims of 1988 Massacre

January 10, 2022

Iran’s judiciary last week sentenced three middle-aged women, including two relatives of the victims of the 1988 massacre, to collectively 12 years imprisonment. Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on 6 January 2012 sentenced the three women to a total of 12 years in prison on the charges of “propaganda activities against the regime” and …

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Amnesty International appeals for release of Maryam Akbari Monfared, relative of victims 1988 massacre

September 20, 2021

Amnesty International in an Urgent Action appeal on 27 August 2021 called for the immediate release of Maryam Akbari Monfared, an Iranian prisoner of conscience, held in custody for more than 12 years for her open letters condemning the Iranian authorities’ human rights violations and seeking truth and justice for her siblings who were forcibly …

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Amnesty International: Ebrahim Raisi must be investigated for crimes against humanity

September 13, 2021

Amnesty International in a statement on 19 June 2021 announced that ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who was declared Iran’s next president, should be investigated for alleged crimes against humanity during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, …

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July 2021: In report to UN General Assembly, Special Rapporteur on Iran decries destruction of evidence of 1988 massacre

September 8, 2021

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Professor Javaid Rehman, raised concern regarding the destruction of evidence of extrajudicial executions of political dissidents in 1988 in his report of 16 July 2021 to the General Assembly on the Situation of human rights in the Islamic …

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UNSG report to 47th session of Human Rights Council highlights ongoing violations related to Iran’s 1988 massacre

August 31, 2021

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has highlighted ongoing human rights abuses related to the 1988 massacre in his report of 14 May 2021 on the Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the 47th session of the Human Rights Council. Paragraph 34 of the report (A/HRC/47/22) mentions the case of …

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The National: Former UN officials call for inquiry into 1988 massacres

August 16, 2021

More than 40 former United Nations officials including an ex-human rights chief have called for an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of thousands of prisoners in Iranian jails, The National reported on 5 May 2021. The following is the full text of The National’s coverage of the open letter to the UN co-signed by …

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CNS News: 152 Former U.N. Officials, Experts Call for Commission to Investigate 1988 Massacre

August 16, 2021

More than 150 former United Nations officials, human rights activists, and legal experts sent an open letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights requesting that a “Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances” in Iran be established, CNS News reported on 5 May 2021. The following is the full …

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Photo of new graves over mass grave in Khavaran, Iran

JVMI urges UN intervention to preserve evidence of 1988 massacre at khavaran mass grave in iran

April 26, 2021

JVMI has received new credible information that the authorities in Iran are building over the Khavaran mass grave, south of Tehran, where thousands of victims of the 1988 extrajudicial executions are believed to be buried. Last week, the Bahá’í International Community announced that the Iranian authorities had banned the Baha’is of Tehran from burying their …

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Iranian political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared

Political Prisoner Seeking Justice Over Iran’s 1988 Massacre Is Exiled To Semnan

April 19, 2021

The Iranian Judiciary on 10 March 2021 forcibly transferred political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared from Evin Prison in the capital Tehran to a prison more than 200 kilometres away in Semnan in an attempt to silence her calls for justice over the 1988 massacre. Ms. Akbari Monfared, whose siblings were among the victims of the …

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UN Geneva

JVMI Leads Successful Advocacy at Human Rights Council for UN Probe into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

April 15, 2021

Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) led a successful advocacy project at the 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council throughout February-March 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited JVMI’s ability to conduct face-to-face meetings as in previous years, we were able to promote the call …

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U.S. Congress Resolution Seeks UN Inquiry into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

April 19, 2021

More than a third of Members of the United States House of Representatives have co-sponsored a bi-partisan resolution on Iran referencing the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling for the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the extrajudicial killings. House Resolution 118 was initially introduced on February 11, 2021 with 113 original co-sponsors. Support …

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Mohammad-Hossein-Saffar-Harrandi

Top Iranian Official Defends 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran – February 2021

March 14, 2021

Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, a member of Iran’s powerful Expediency Discernment Council, defended the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in an interview with Iranian state television on 23 February 2021. He told Channel 3’s Bedouneh Tavaqof program that the victims deserved to be killed. Saffar Harandi, a retired Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) General, is a former Islamic …

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