19th June 2021 - Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, expressed her condemnation of the installation of Ebrahim Raisi as the regime's president following the sham election which took place on 18th June in Iran.
She said in a statement: “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance, and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.
In an open letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, more than 150 former UN officials and human rights experts called for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances in Iran. The letter reiterates the devastating impact that the 1988 massacre has had on the families of the victims and the Iranian society. It reads in part, “We appeal to the UN Human Rights Council to end the culture of impunity that exists in Iran by establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances. We urge High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to support the establishment of such a Commission.”
According to recent reports, the Iranian regime is on the verge of implementing plans to destroy the sites of mass graves in Khavaran Cemetery. The plans are part of a much larger pattern whereby the Iranian regime has been destroying evidence of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners that took place over several months.
Based on the information we received from Iran, Iranian authorities are pressuring Baha’i families to bury their loved ones in the Khavaran burial site, therefore, putting the mass grave site at further risk of destruction, tampering with vital forensic evidence, and continuing to commit crimes against humanity.
