Petition to UN Regarding Deaths in Recent Iran Protests
A group of human rights activists, lawyers, and university professors have submitted and signed a petition requesting the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch “special investigations” into the situation of detained protesters and deaths from recent protests in Iran.
The signatories of this “petition” have described the situation of those detained and the threats and intimidation carried out against the families of those killed in recent events in Iran. They have requested that Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, form a special investigative team as soon as possible to travel to Iran and examine cases of “human rights violations” in dealing with the recent nationwide protests by the Iranian people.
The petition signatories have also pointed to the suppression of protesters by security forces and have written: “From November 15-21, 2019, security forces suppressed protesters in small and large cities across the country by firing tear gas capsules and direct firing of military bullets. Authorities of the Iranian government have not returned the bodies of the killed to their grieving families and have refused to provide information about wounded and imprisoned protesters.”
After the media coverage of recent protests in Iran, judicial officials of the Islamic Republic initially refrained from officially announcing the number of those detained, but gradually released statistics. The Governor of Tehran announced that more than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection with recent protests in this province alone.
The official statistics on the number of deaths from recent protests remain shrouded in ambiguity. The Telegram channel and website “Kaleme,” citing statements from “an informed source,” announced the recorded number of victims of recent protests in Iran to be 366 people.
Amnesty International also announced on Monday, December 2, that the death toll from Iran’s November protests was 208 people. However, judicial authorities, without announcing official statistics on the number of deaths from recent protests, accuse foreign media of “statistics fabrication” and “creating a false narrative.”
The petition signatories have also suggested that Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, travel to Iran to investigate “killings, crimes, and the situation of thousands” of those detained and discuss with detained protesters and human rights activists from recent protests.
The petition signatories have also requested that Michelle Bachelet ask the authorities of the Islamic Republic to release detained protesters as quickly as possible, as they claim that security officials are attempting to force these individuals into “confessions” under torture that they had contact with “foreign enemies.”
Islamic Republic officials consistently refer to protesters as “rioters” and claim they have contacts with foreign enemies.
Among the signatories of this petition, the names of human rights activists and protected signatures stand out. It also appears that a number of Iranians residing in various cities across Iran have signed this petition.
Janet Afary, Touraj Atabaki, Payam Akhavan, Reza Afshari, Abbas Amanat, Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Ali Banouazizi, Maziar Bahari, Nirah Tohidi, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Nasrin Rahimiyeh, Saeed Rahnema, Jalil Roshanedel, Hushang Shahabi, Kazem Alamdari, Mansour Farhang, Mehrangiz Kar, Mohsen Kadivar, Kazem Kardavani, Ahmad Karimi Hakkak, Zhale Lackner-Ghohary, Karim Lahiji, Hayedeh Moghtadaei, Ali Akbar Mahdi, Abbas Milani, Nader Hashemi, Homa Hoodfar, Saroush Kosmayee, Hamid Farrokhzad, Godroz Egtedari, Fereydoon Farahi, Parvaneh Hosseini, Iraj Sobhani, Ali Fotouhi, Mohammad Aghazadeh, Farhad Khosrokhavar, and Shahreh Salehpoor are among the signatories of this petition.
Source: DW
