A group of victims of the state-led suppression amid the 2022 "Zan, Zendegi, Azadi" uprising has filed a landmark legal case naming forty specified Iranian authorities of suspected human rights violations.
Case Filing Pursued in Argentina
The petition for a criminal investigation to be initiated was filed within the Argentine legal system. This move was made by a coalition assisted by a non-governmental legal group. The Argentinian judicial system are recognized for hearing cases based on universal jurisdiction.
The document alleges that the response from Iranian authorities to the protests entailed "shooting live ammunition, paintball guns, steel shot not intended for short distances, and various objects at civilians." The document further describes arbitrary roundups, abuse while imprisoned, and executions of protesters that are said to continue to this day.
Officials Named Anonymously
Certain agents across the spectrum of Iran's law enforcement have been identified in the legal documents, but their personal details are currently being withheld from the public.
Personal Stories Motivate the Complaint
One of the individuals behind the case, UK-based Mahsa Piraei, explained that the aim "is far from personal vengeance in a personal sense, but accountability and fact-finding." Her mother, Minoo Majidi, 62 years old, was fatally shot in the autumn of 2022. Forensic analysis revealed in excess of 167 metal pellets had been discharged into her back at point-blank range. She had been on a gathering over the demise of Mahsa Amini, a youthful Kurdish woman who died in custody.
Piraei, among Majidi's three children, was residing abroad at the time of her mother's violent demise. She went back to Iran at great risk to visit her grave. Her sibling Roya shared a picture of herself by their parent's burial site with her scalp shaved on a restricted social media account. A acquaintance published the image, which went viral, ultimately leading Roya to seek exile for Turkey.
Piraei remarked: "By means of legal filings and record-keeping the goal is to preserve evidence, catalogue violations and avoid historical oblivion." She characterized her parent's killing as "not an isolated incident but part of a common procedure."
Further Claimants Are Individuals Who Lost Sight
The remaining complainants who have come forward are Kowsar Eftekhari and Mersedeh Shahinkar, both survivors of blinding at close range by marker guns.
Eftekhari, a young scholar, was shot in the right eye in late 2022. She had been in the streets for an extended period, witnessing fellow demonstrators being shot with bullets and being beaten herself with electronic batons. During a protest on 12 October, she was at a protest near a university when a undercover agent struck her with several paintballs from a range of about a metre. He then allegedly targeted her eye when she did not respond to his demand to scatter. A footage of the attack depicting blood pouring from her face spread online, and she was eventually given refuge in Germany.
Shahinkar, in her late thirties when assaulted on 18 October, only understood what had occurred when she noticed something wet on her cheek. Fellow protesters warned her not to enter an ambulance for fear of being delivered to a authority holding area. When she eventually got to a medical clinic, a staff member told her to depart because they would not treat demonstrators. A medical professional assessed her and sent her to a medical center, where Shahinkar claimed a stone had inadvertently hurt her eye so she would not be refused care. She shared photos of her injuries online, and in early 2023, undercover agents came for her, prompting her to go into exile. She later collected a prestigious human rights prize as a figure of the movement.
International Law Principle Offers Foundation for Action
The individuals initiating the legal probe say that the complaint is not viewed just as a symbolic gesture with little chance of a practical outcome. Universal jurisdiction allows cases to be probed in a third country even if the crime did not occur in that nation and the offender is not located there. The Argentinian system has notably open rules on such cases in the world.
The doctrine of international justice has in the past led to multiple sentences and the opening of investigations covering violations committed in many states. Cases are currently being pursued in several jurisdictions.
As the application is only for a legal inquiry, and this is not a civil lawsuit, there is no claim by the individuals for monetary compensation. This filing would not represent the first instance against Iranian officials brought in Argentina.
