Pouya Bakhtiari's father calls on the UN to investigate the bloody repression

In a letter to the United Nations, Manouchehr Bakhtiari called for an independent international investigation into the bloody suppression of protests in Iran. Pouya Bakhtiari's father reported that there were 144 bodies of protesters in the forensic office of the city of Karaj alone.

The Iran Human Rights Campaign website has republished a letter that Manouchehr Bakhtiari, father of Pouya Bakhtiari, one of the victims of the protests last November, wrote to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Javed Rehman, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran.

Manouchehr Bakhtiari, who lost her son Pouya Bakhtiari in the violent suppression of the November 2019 protests, has called for an independent investigation by international organizations, including the UN human rights body, into the "Iranian government's deadly violence against protesters."

Manouchehr Bakhtiari's letter was sent to a number of human rights activists around the world, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, before the start of the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The text of this letter has now been made public by the Iranian Human Rights Campaign website. In this three-page letter, Manouchehr Bakhtiari points out the illegal actions of the Islamic Republic authorities.

Manouchehr Bakhtiari, citing the Iranian government's lack of accountability and failure to provide accurate information about the violent suppression of the protests in November last year, has called on the United Nations to appoint a group to investigate the suppression of these protests.

Themes of Manouchehr Bakhtiari's letter

In this letter, Pouya Bakhtiari's father discusses his personal experience as a "grieved father." He says he has no confidence in Iran's judicial system.

Manouchehr Bakhtiari said that when he went to the Karaj forensic medicine office to receive his son's body, he realized the extent of the violence that had been used against the protesters. Mr. Bakhtiari also referred to the authorities' prevention of his son's body being handed over and said that the Karaj forensic medicine office had spoken of 144 bodies.

According to Pouya Bakhtiari's father, the forensic pathologist has refused to return the bodies of the victims of this crackdown to their families. He pointed to the Iranian Interior Ministry's order to transfer the bodies to Tehran and bury them there.

Manouchehr Bakhtiari also referred to the Islamic Republic's authorities' prevention of holding public mourning and stated that her legal pursuit to receive an explanation for her son's death has caused many difficulties for her and other family members.

In his letter to Michelle Bachelet and other human rights officials, he wrote about the celebration of Pouya's 40th birthday that all of his family members, "including me, Pouya's mother, her sister and sister's husband, two uncles, and even her 11-year-old cousin, were taken handcuffed, blindfolded, and in separate cars to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj and held in detention for two days to a month."

Manouchehr Bakhtiari has stressed that “critical dialogue” with the Islamic Republic government has not yet led to accountability. He has called on international forums to hold the Iranian government accountable and to pave the way for future prosecutions of those who ordered and carried out such actions through an independent investigation into the deadly crackdown on protests.

Source: DW