{"id":250644,"date":"2021-11-12T08:55:46","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T13:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=250644"},"modified":"2023-02-02T13:43:30","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T12:43:30","slug":"tribunal-formed-in-london-amidst-broader-push-to-hold-iran-accountable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/tribunal-formed-in-london-amidst-broader-push-to-hold-iran-accountable\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribunal Formed in London Amidst Broader Push to Hold Iran Accountable"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Iran-Tribunal-1\"<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a People\u2019s Tribunal began in London with the aim of investigating the Iranian regime\u2019s crackdown on nationwide protests that took place two years ago. The event was jointly organized by the organizations like Justice for Iran, Iran Human Rights, and Together Against the Death Penalty. It is scheduled to continue until Sunday, the eve of the second anniversary of the outbreak of the November 2019<\/a> anti-regime uprising, during which time 45 witnesses will present evidence. A public statement of the tribunal\u2019s findings is expected in early 2022 and is likely to include recommendations for the international pursuit of accountability for 133 Iranian officials who have been explicitly identified as having a role in the crackdown.<\/p>\n

Several organizations not directly involved in those proceedings have also issued statements in recent days drawing attention to the uprising\u2019s anniversary and condemning not just the regime\u2019s initial crackdown but also its ongoing efforts to intimidate and silence eyewitnesses and the families of those killed by security forces.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization<\/a> of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) was quick to determine that the death toll from mass shooting incidents rose to over 1,500 over the course of only several days. That number was later confirmed by Reuters, which cited multiple sources from within the regime\u2019s Interior Ministry. In official statements, however, authorities have spent the past two years downplaying the incident and have even attempted to claim that unspecified entities other than the security forces were responsible for many shooting deaths.<\/p>\n

There U.N. Security Council has so far declined to open a formal investigation into the 2019 crackdown and to establish a mechanism for accountability. The western powers have been showing little support for this course of action while they remain preoccupied with salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Negotiations toward that end are expected to resume<\/a> in Vienna on November 29.<\/p>\n

The unfolding tribunal sends the message regarding domestic abuses by the Iranian regime, as do a number of other activist movements addressing a range of high-profile incidents. The longevity of some of those movements further underscores the perception that Tehran has developed a strong sense of impunity in such matters, thanks in large part to a relative lack of international consequences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In September 2020, seven United Nations human rights experts made reference to that impunity in an open letter addressed to Iranian authorities regarding a massacre of political prisoners that took place in the summer of 1988. The letter appeared to take it for granted that Tehran would not respond in any meaningful way and that it would ultimately refuse to bring the perpetrators to justice and make up for their prior inaction. It noted that in the months following the massacre, the UN recognized that there had been an upsurge in politically-motivated killings, but neither the General Assembly nor any relevant UN institution followed up on the reports.<\/p>\n

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Martyrs of the Iran protests \u2013 November 2019<\/div><\/div>
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