Second Round of November Tribunal Concludes; Senior IRGC Officer: Suppression Order Issued by Islamic Republic Leader

Three months after the first session of the November 1998 International People’s Tribunal was held in London, the second round of this tribunal for “determining the nature of crimes committed” and “holding those responsible accountable” concluded after three days with testimony from 22 witnesses.

The third day of this people’s tribunal on Sunday, February 7, 2020, concluded with testimony from seven witnesses, including several military personnel, while Vowing Jordash, head of the judges’ panel of the November International Tribunal, announced that the judges are attempting to issue the final verdict in May 2022.

Witness number 600, who appeared today as the first witness at the November International People’s Tribunal, was a senior officer of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and responsible for gathering intelligence during the protests. For security reasons, he appeared online in the tribunal with his face covered and voice altered.

On the third day of the tribunal, this witness provided information regarding the manner of clashes, beatings, widespread arrests including over 7,000 arrests in Tehran, the unlimited authorities of the IRGC, the use of Basij children in suppressing protests, deaths, and night burials. He testified, “The IRGC has been training its forces for years to suppress protests,” and during the November 1998 protests, the IRGC forces had been put on alert a week in advance for the uprising.

He then referred to two figures close to the Supreme Leader’s office named “Khalafi, as one of the officials of the Supreme Leader’s office protocol” and “Vahid Haghanian, advisor to Ali Khamenei,” and said these individuals had given orders to IRGC commanders to “open fire and manage the crisis.” He added that the order for “free fire” was given on the second or third day of the protests, and military forces did not need to report on the amount of ammunition used or where or to whom they had fired.

This senior IRGC officer, noting that “all these orders were issued by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, namely Iran’s leader,” added that the provinces of Alborz, Lorestan, and Khuzestan had the highest death tolls in the November 1998 protests, with the cities of Mahshahr and Karaj having the highest rates of firing and suppression by special units.

Zahra and Maria Saeidi Panah were sisters who simultaneously provided judges of the tribunal with documents and evidence regarding the suppression of November 1998 protests in the city of Sanandaj.

Zahra Saeidi Panah, noting that she was attacked with a baton by security forces during the November 1998 protests and wounded by a rubber bullet, reported the short-term arrest of her 18-year-old nephew during these protests.

After the testimony of these two sisters, journalists present in the courtroom were asked to leave the room because of the confidential nature of the testimony, and witness number 602 left the courtroom.

Witness 418 was the fifth person who appeared on the third day of the November International People’s Tribunal as a police officer with his face covered and his voice altered by the tribunal organizers for security reasons. This witness, referring to the fact that on November 15 he was sent to one of the gas stations in the center of his province’s area to protect the fuel supply, told the tribunal judges that on Saturday, November 16, he and his colleagues were referred to the “Second Combat Organization” — an organization where his task was to be a sniper. This police officer says that because he did not want to confront people, he was able to convince his superiors not to carry out his assigned duty.

This witness, referring to the fact that he and several other soldiers were forced to protect a police headquarters between November 17-19, told the judges’ panel: “Regarding the official statistics of detainees, I cannot give exact numbers. But I can say that approximately 50 people, ranging from a 15-year-old youth to 45-year-old men, all male, were brought in handcuffed and blindfolded and handed over to our headquarters. Because they really no longer had space in the IRGC prison or the intelligence office.” He also added: “The order was not to fire with Kalashnikov rifles and organizational weapons that could be traced later so they could deny responsibility.”

The sixth witness, numbered 499, also appeared in court with his face covered to protect security and presented his testimony to the judges regarding the suppression of the November 1998 protests, the arrest of Kaveh Visani, one of those killed in November 1998, and the discovery of his body showing signs of torture.

According to this witness, Kaveh Visani was arrested during the November 1998 protests in Sanandaj. Following up with his family, it was determined that he was in the intelligence detention facility of the Sanandaj police force. However, in December of the same year, the police force denied his arrest and informed his family that his body had been found in a village outside of Sanandaj.

The seventh and final witness of the second round of the November International People’s Tribunal was also a member of the police force from one of Iran’s cities who appeared online in military uniform with his face covered. He said that on November 15, at his duty station, they were informed that gasoline prices would increase, and he was transferred along with one colleague with equipment such as weapons and a Taser to one of the city’s gas stations for protection.

This witness, stating that on November 16, with the increase in protests, they were asked to defend their duty station, added that on that day he saw a person lying on the ground in front of their headquarters with blood around his head.

This witness also added that none of the protesters were armed and posed no threat to the police officers or anyone, and the police could have used other methods to deal with the protesters, but they opened fire on people.

Witness number 601 told the tribunal judges that due to disobeying a superior’s order during the protests, he was arrested, beaten, and after three days was released with a 30-day suspension order.

This witness, who according to the tribunal’s public relations had contacted to register his testimony in recent days, told the tribunal judges that based on documents available, during the protests 2,300 bullets were fired by police forces at people, during which time 33 were arrested, 15 were wounded, and two were killed.

After the completion of witness testimony, the prosecution team presented the cases of 160 defendants to the judges and answered some of their questions.

Hamid Sabi, a member of the prosecution team, in response to the judges’ question about how they present their statements against Iran’s leader, said that Khamenei is someone who, alongside 159 others, was responsible for implementing the suppression of protests. Referring to the testimony of witness number 600, he said that this witness, who was a senior officer of the IRGC, also stated that Iran’s leader issued the order to suppress the protests.

Mr. Sabi, addressing the tribunal judges, said, “The suppression forces of Basij, IRGC, and plainclothes officers are all under the command and direct orders of Ali Khamenei, and therefore, he is responsible for the decisions that were made and responsible for all crimes attributed to him.”

The second day of the second round of this people’s tribunal on Saturday, February 6, 2020, was held with testimony from nine witnesses, including Abubakr Mehrbani, uncle of Osman Naderi, Ali Reza’i, brother of Nasser Reza’i, Ali Reza Barakati, a friend of Syed Ali Hosseini, among those killed in November 1998, and Maryam Foumani, a researcher of the prosecution team.

The first day of the second round of this people’s tribunal was held with testimony from six witnesses, including Tahereh Bajerewani, wife of Ali Fathollahi, Mohammad Mahdi Shahbazi Fard, brother of Ameneh Shahbazi Fard among those killed in November 1998, Fatima Davand, an arrested protester during the November 1998 protests, and three other witnesses whose faces were covered for security reasons.