“Javaid Rahman”: Iran’s Government Must Not Be Allowed to Escape Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide
“Javaid Rahman” in a speech on human rights stated: Iran’s government must not be allowed to escape crimes against humanity and genocide.
Javaid Rahman, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, in his speech this week, while emphasizing the suppression and elimination of Baha’is, execution of political prisoners, arbitrary detention and torture of religious and ethnic minorities, referred to the crimes of the Islamic Republic government in the 1980s, particularly the summer of 1988, stating: “Targeting religious, ethnic, linguistic minorities and political opponents with complete impunity occurred in the first decade of the establishment of the Islamic Republic and has continued to this day. Among those executed were women who, according to published reports, were sexually assaulted before execution, and many of those executed were children. The Iranian government and its leaders must not be allowed to escape crimes against humanity and genocide.”
Attacks on religious minorities began from the early days of the Islamic revolution, and regime agents started massacring Christians and political opponents. The first Christian victim at the hands of Islamists was Aristotle Syahus, a priest of the Anglican Episcopal Church, whose throat was cut eight days after the Islamic revolution. In addition, “Hussain Soodmand,” a Christian citizen and priest of the Jama’at Rabbani church, was executed in Mashhad on charges of apostasy and buried in ruins outside the city.
Mehdi Dibaj was also condemned to apostasy and execution in 1985 due to his religious beliefs. He was a Christian leader and translator who spent more than 9 years in prison, and the Islamic Republic government, under international pressure and the efforts of Bishop Haik Hovsepian, was forced to release him. However, only 5 months after his release, he was kidnapped by intelligence agents and murdered. At least 8 Christian figures were executed or killed by the Islamic Republic government.
Furthermore, by order of Ruhollah Khomeini, thousands of political and ideological prisoners held in the Islamic Republic’s prisons, and even prisoners whose sentences had ended, were executed in the summer of 1988 and buried in mass graves. “Ayatollah Montazeri,” who was Iran’s deputy leader at that time, while opposing Ruhollah Khomeini’s decision, called the aforementioned executions the greatest crime in the Islamic Republic.
Javaid Rahman, the UN special rapporteur, one week before the end of his six-year mandate regarding Iran, released a report stating: “Arbitrary executions, persecution of Kurdish, Turkmen, Arab and Baluch political groups have also continued in the post-revolution period under the Islamic Republic government. Furthermore, immediately after the Islamic revolution, a campaign against Baha’is emerged with the aim of their destruction and genocide, and this crime against them has continued to this day.”
In his sixth report in late March 2024 on human rights violations in Iran, Javaid Rahman expressed serious concern about the continued persecution, harassment and arbitrary arrests of religious and sectarian minorities including Baha’is, Christians converted from Islam to Christianity, and Sufis including Gonabadi dervishes who are not officially recognized in Iran.
In his speech this week, Javaid Rahman, while calling for impartial and transparent investigations under international law, stated: “Concealing the fate of thousands of political opponents and the location of their remains constitutes a crime against humanity and forced disappearance.”
It is worth noting that the Iranian Islamic Republic government never granted Javaid Rahman permission to travel to Iran, and after the end of July, “Mai Sato,” a Japanese human rights lawyer, will replace him.
