Iran Human Rights: Raisi’s Death Does Not Mean the Closure of the Case on His Crimes

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); May 20, 2023: Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the Islamic Republic and a member of the "Death Committee," died yesterday in a helicopter crash.

Honoring the memory of thousands of men and women who have fallen victim to the crimes of Ebrahim Raisi and the Islamic Republic over the past four decades, Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) emphasizes that Raisi's death does not mean the closure of the case on his crimes. IHRNGO hopes that one day, his record, along with those of other officials of the Islamic Republic and perpetrators of crimes against humanity, will be addressed in a competent court.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Iran Human Rights, stated:

"Ebrahim Raisi was a symbol of judicial impunity for criminals and the entrenched lack of accountability within the Islamic Republic's system. In addition to his direct responsibility for the execution of thousands of political prisoners as one of the four members of the 'Death Committee' in the summer of 1988, during the early 1980s and the height of political suppression and executions, he held positions such as Prosecutor of Karaj and Hamedan and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran, being responsible for crimes whose full extent is still unknown to the public.

In the following decades, as he climbed the ranks of the judiciary, holding key positions such as Deputy Head of the Judiciary and Attorney General, he played a direct role in more crimes, including the suppression of the 2009 protests, subsequent executions of dissidents, and hundreds of other executions.

During his two-year tenure as head of the judiciary, he was responsible for the execution of over 400 individuals, including political dissidents and protesters like Navid Afkari, Mostafa Salehi, Ruhollah Zam, and Hedayat Abdollahpour, as well as the execution of at least seven juvenile offenders, 25 women, and one man for consuming alcohol.

Ebrahim Raisi should have been prosecuted for crimes against humanity and held accountable in a fair trial for the countless atrocities he committed over these four decades. However, in the Islamic Republic's system, such crimes result in promotions, and Ebrahim Raisi rose from the position of assistant prosecutor in Karaj in 1980 to the head of the judiciary in 2019 and the presidency in 2021."

Source: iranhr.net, Staff, May 20, 2024

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