Second day of Aban People's Court; Witness testimony about security forces burning public property

The second day of the November International People's Tribunal to investigate the "crimes" of the Iranian government in November 2019 was held in London on Thursday, November 10, 1402.

The second day of this people's trial in the British capital began with the testimony of Raha Bahreini, an expert from Amnesty International.

The trial, organized by three organizations: "Iranian Human Rights," "Justice for Iran," and "Together Against the Execution," will continue until November 13, and 45 witnesses will testify in court. According to the organizers of the trial, written testimonies from 120 people have been submitted to the court.

During today's hearing, Witness No. 366, whose identity was withheld and whose face was covered, also appeared to testify on camera from inside Iran. The witness said that he joined the protests on November 15 and that he was directly shot by security forces that afternoon, an incident that resulted in his spinal cord being severed.

Judge Zak Jacob, a prominent anti-apartheid activist and former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, during the second session of the International People's Court in November, asked witness number 195 about the veracity of the claim that police forces set fire to public places and blamed protesters for it.

The witness responded by saying that he had witnessed police forces setting fires many times during the November 2019 protests.

Referring to the claim of the Islamic Republic authorities about the burning of public property by protesters, Judge Yakub said that although fire has long been a weapon of the powerless, those in power have throughout history attempted sabotage with fire to make the powerless appear responsible.

Witness 195 explained about the direct shooting of security forces at protesters: "When the Security Council issues the order to use firearms, it no longer matters under what circumstances or for what purpose the police officer fired. They simply give the weapon to the officer so that he can pull the trigger."

The witness also described that on November 17, 2019, they explicitly ordered the police officers via wireless to use firearms. He added: “My understanding of this order was that they wanted to suppress the protests by any means.”

The second session of the International People's Court in Aban concluded after the testimony of 195 witnesses. The next session of the court will begin tomorrow (Friday) at 9:30 a.m. London time.

The organizers of the trial announced in a statement on Tuesday, November 8, that the "court will examine whether the crimes committed by officials of the Islamic Republic, including Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and Ebrahim Raisi, the current president and then head of the judiciary, in connection with the November 2019 protests, constituted crimes against humanity."

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has a special role in investigating the events of November 2019, because in the absence of official and reliable statistics on the number of victims of repression in the protests that year, Amnesty International tried to provide a documented report of these events by collecting evidence and documents.

The organization previously announced in a statement that it has evidence showing that at least 304 men, women, and children were killed during the "brutal" suppression of these protests by security forces.

According to the human rights organization, based on its research, including reviewing photos and videos related to these incidents, 220 of the victims were killed within two days.

At the same time, Reuters reported that at least 1,500 people were killed in the November 2019 protests, and quoted "three sources close to Khamenei's inner circle and a fourth official" as saying that the leader of the Islamic Republic had told senior officials in the country to "do whatever is necessary to stop" the protests.

Amnesty International, in a statement released on Thursday, expressed hope that the holding of the people's court in Aban would be a "wake-up call" for all members of the United Nations.

In May 2020, this organization asked the United Nations to investigate the killing of protesters by the Islamic Republic's security forces in November 2019.

The November 2019 protests, which were initially a reaction to the sudden increase in gasoline prices, quickly changed direction and targeted the Islamic Republic government, led by Ali Khamenei.

The first session of the International People's Tribunal to investigate the "crimes" of the Iranian government in 2019 ended on Wednesday, November 9, in London, after the statements of 32 witnesses.

The sessions of the Aban International Tribunal from November 19 to 23 of this year will also be broadcast live on the court's Instagram page (Abantribunal).

Source: Radio Farda