"A boss should be tried for his crimes, not the president"

A number of Iranian civil society and human rights activists have called for Ebrahim Raisi to be tried on charges of “crimes against humanity.” They have pointed to Raisi’s role in the “death committee” and believe that he belongs in prison, not in the presidential palace.

Based on a report published by the French news agency, the France 24 news channel has examined Ebrahim Raisi's record since the victory of the Islamic Revolution and reflected the assessment of Iranian civil activists and human rights defenders regarding this candidate for the 2021 elections.

According to polls published by Iranian media, it appears that Ebrahim Raisi has a greater chance of winning the elections on Friday, June 18, than other candidates in this election.

In this regard, a number of human rights defenders, relying on statements from international institutions, have called for Raisi to be tried in an independent international court.

The France 24 report states that Ebrahim Raisi, as head of the judiciary, has committed violent violations of the people's fundamental rights and played an active role in the killing of political prisoners in the summer of 2018.

The report states that Ebrahim Raisi was one of four members of the "Death Committee" and that, on the orders of this committee, thousands of prisoners who were serving their sentences were executed in the summer of 2018.

These civil activists have said that Raisi's victory in Friday's election, after even his conservative rivals were disqualified, was highly likely, and have therefore emphasized that Raisi should be tried by world judicial authorities for the crimes he has committed, and not be allowed to take over Iran's affairs.

A leader from yesterday to today

The France 24 report states that Ebrahim Raisi's political rise began at a young age and that he has been active in sensitive positions since the day after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Ebrahim Raisi was appointed as the prosecutor of Karaj at the age of 20, in the very first days after the formation of the Islamic government.

After that, Raisi assumed the position of Hamadan prosecutor and continued his work as deputy prosecutor of Tehran in 2015.

The report states that Raisi, as Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran, played a key and decisive role in the execution of thousands of political prisoners affiliated with the opposition, mainly members of the People's Mojahedin Organization.

It is said that as a member of the "Death Committee", he handed these prisoners over to the firing squad without trial.

Raisi, who is being touted as a possible successor to Ayatollah Khamenei, has denied his role in the 1988 executions, but has defended the decision to carry out those executions.

After the executions of the summer of 2018, Raisi was elected as the prosecutor of Tehran and took on a more important role in the judiciary. In 2004, he was elected as the deputy head of the judiciary, a position he held for about 10 years.

Raisi has been the head of the judiciary since 2019. The report refers to statements by Shadi Sadr, who believes that Raisi's place is currently on the bench, not in the presidency.

Shadi Sadr is the Executive Director of the Justice for Iran organization.

According to Shadi Sadr, the fact that Raisi, who is the head of the judiciary, has been nominated for the presidency in Iran indicates impunity for one of the perpetrators of these horrific crimes in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Addressing the summer 2018 executions, which were carried out on the orders of Ayatollah Khomeini, remains a political "taboo" in Iran.

Human rights groups and historians believe that between July and September 2018, approximately four to five thousand political prisoners, especially forces affiliated with the People's Mojahedin Organization, were executed.

This is while the National Council of Resistance has announced the number of people killed in the summer of 2018 at around 30,000.

US sanctions against Raisi

Last year, a UN rapporteur, referring to the executions of 2018, mentioned the Iranian government's responsibility in the case of "crimes against humanity."

On the other hand, Amnesty International, in its 2018 report, identified Raisi as a member of the "Death Committee" and said that he played a role in the execution of thousands of prisoners in Evin and Gohardasht prisons.

Raha Bahreini, a member of Amnesty International, has also said that Raisi should be tried for "crimes against humanity" and torture of prisoners.

According to an audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri released in 2016, in August 2018, Montazeri told members of the "Death Committee," including Raisi, that what was happening in prisons was "the greatest crime in the history of the Islamic Republic."

Hossein Abedini, a member of the National Council of Resistance's International Affairs Committee, called Raisi "a heartless murderer" who has "40 years of repression" under his belt.

A number of prisoners who survived the 1988 executions said at a conference held last week by the National Council of Resistance that they had personally seen Raisi in the "death committee" while he was in prison.

For example, Reza Shemirani, who was imprisoned for ten years and now lives in Switzerland, told AFP that he saw a leader in prison wearing an IRGC uniform.

Shemirani said that Raisi was “the most active member of the death committee.” Mahmoud Royaei, who was in prison between 1981 and 1991 (1981-1991), said that Raisi made the most effort to execute people.

Royaei has said that Ebrahim Raisi does not know anything about mercy or compassion.

France 24 referred to the sanctions imposed on Ebrahim Raisi by the US Treasury Department in November 2019 and said that one of the reasons for his sanctions by the US was the role he played in the "Death Committee".

Raha Bahreini also points to Raisi's role in the bloody repression of November 2019, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.

Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Iranian Human Rights in New York, said: "Raisi is one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic system that imprisons, tortures, and kills critics of government policies."

Hadi Ghaemi has said that instead of Raisi participating in the presidential election campaign, he should be tried and punished by an impartial court.

Source: DW