UN to investigate crimes in Iran post election

Urgent Action
Friday 26 June 2009
UN - Iran
The United Nations must investigate in the violent attacks against protesters
Iranian families are still without any news on the whereabouts of their relatives who were arrested or hospitalized during last week’s protests. The two main hospitals in Tehran are reportedly submitted since a few days to pressure exerted by the police and Bassijis in order to prevent doctors to deliver medical certificates to the people injured, a document that is necessary to demonstrate in the future the violence they were subjected to.
In addition, reliable sources within the health sector report that there are 20 bodies in the mortuaries of those hospitals, in connection with the protests.
The authorities, in view of the widespread international condemnation of the violence against peaceful protesters, announced eight deaths among the Bassijis, five days after the events. The authorities purposely circulate false information regarding the responsibilities for last week’s serious violence against protesters. E.g. the state radio-television pretended that the young girl killed by bullets and whose picture was on the internet worldwide (Neda Agha-Soltan) has been killed by CIA agents, present among the protesters.
Last but not least, any attempt to denounce the serious human rights violations perpetrated in the wake of the election is severely repressed: we remain without information about the whereabouts of a number of journalists and human rights defenders who were arrested last week [1]. In addition, Ms. Shirin Ebadi has been threatened with legal suits in the pro-government media for having drawn the attention at the UN and EU levels to the human rights situation in her country. .
Five independent UN experts have voiced their grave concern regarding the use of excessive police force, arbitrary arrests and killings during the past weeks in the Islamic Republic of Iran. They called upon the authorities to fully guarantee the rights to freedom of expression and assembly throughout the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed her concern following reports of arbitrary arrests and illegal use of excessive force by semi-official forces and recalled to the Iranian government its obligations under international human rights law. The UN Secretary General expressed dismay at the post-election violence, particularly the disproportionate use of violence against civilians. He urged an immediate stop to the arrests, threats and use of force.
In this context and in view of the objective difficulties to collect reliable information from the ground, FIDH and LDDHI calls upon the UN Secretary General to appoint a special representative on Iran, with the mandate to notably inquire in the recent events in order to establish the responsibilities for those dead and injured during the peaceful protests. The result of this inquiry could be included in the Secretary General forthcoming report on the human rights situation in Iran to the UN General Assembly, next Fall. “This dark episode of Iran’s history will remain alive in memories: those who are responsible for those serious human rights violations of the right to life, to physical integrity and to safety will have to be accountable for their acts. This includes both those who implemented the orders and those who gave the orders”, concluded Karim Lahidji, FIDH Vice-President and President of LDDHI.
Notes :
[1] See Observatory Press Release on 22 June 2009.