Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, criticised a report by UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran Javaid Rehman on Wednesday asserting that the report is an attempt to damage the image of the country.
Kanaani accused Rehman of relying on his international presence and of abusing his position at the UN. He further stated that his claims lack “any legal basis” and amount to “false news”. Moreover, Kanaani stated that Rehman’s claims follow the agenda of the Iranian dissident group the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) and that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights within the UN have a responsibility to prevent bias and abuse from its member states. Kanaani expressed that Iran and its people will move together towards progress and that Iran has the right to oppose the “wrongful process” of bias and misuse of position in the UN.
Rehman released his final findings on Monday calling for an international investigation into “atrocity crimes” in Iran and the prosecution of individuals involved in the mass arrest and killing of thousands during the 1980s. He stated that the “atrocity crimes” during the early and late-1980s constituted crimes against humanity and involved murder, extermination, genocide, torture, forced disappearances and the rape of children and women.
According to Rehman’s report, tens of thousands of Iran’s political rivals were killed from 1981 to 1982 and 5000 political prisoners were executed in 1988. Those executed were serving defined sentences and some were due to be released. Rehman had also previously called for justice for recent deaths and atrocities during the violent suppression of protests in November of 2019 and 2022’s nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests where more than 500 people were killed by security forces. Iranian protesters were also blinded, tortured and subjected to sexual assault, including gang rape. Nine men were executed in January 2024 without a fair trial or due process during the 2022 protests.
Rehman stated in his detailed findings that victims and survivors look to the UN for “justice and accountability”. He further said that the reason behind the “Women, Life, Freedom” can be traced back to the 1980s, post-Revolution and that Iranian authorities unfairly applied the 1979 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran to execute and harm protesters. Rehman’s statement is supported by a report from early 2024 by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, where evidence found that Iran’s government had committed crimes against humanity during the 2022 protests.
