A collective of victims of the government crackdown amid the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" protests has launched a first-of-its-kind judicial filing accusing 4 dozen specified Iranian figures of purported human rights violations.
Legal Action Initiated in the Argentinian System
The petition for a criminal investigation to be commenced was submitted within the Argentinian legal system. This action was taken by a group of Iranians assisted by a non-governmental documentation center. Argentina's judicial system are recognized for hearing cases based on universal jurisdiction.
The filing asserts that the actions from Iranian authorities to the unrest included "discharging lethal rounds, paintball guns, metal pellets improperly used for crowd control, and various objects at civilians." The document further describes widespread detentions, custodial torture, and executions of individuals that reportedly carry on to this day.
Identities Withheld
Certain agents across the range of Iran's intelligence apparatus have been identified in the legal documents, but their identities are currently being kept confidential.
Individual Accounts Fuel the Case
One of the individuals behind the case, residing in the United Kingdom Mahsa Piraei, stated that the aim "is not revenge in a individual way, but accountability and truth." Her parent, Minoo Majidi, aged 62, was fatally shot in late 2022. Forensic analysis indicated in excess of 167 metal pellets had been shot at her posterior at extremely close proximity. She had been attending a public demonstration over the killing of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died in custody.
Piraei, one of Majidi's three children, was living abroad at the period of her parent's violent demise. She returned to Iran at great risk to pay respects at the burial site. Her sibling Roya posted a picture of herself by their mother's grave with her head shorn on a private social media account. A contact circulated the photograph, which spread widely, eventually compelling Roya to seek exile for Turkey.
Piraei stated: "By means of official complaints and evidence the aim is to safeguard proof, name crimes and prevent erasure." She characterized her mother's death as "part of a pattern but part of a systematic practice."
Other Litigants Are Individuals Who Lost Sight
The remaining claimants who have come forward are Kowsar Eftekhari and Mersedeh Shahinkar, both victims of blinding at close range by paintball guns.
Eftekhari, a young student, was struck in the right eye in October 2022. She had been demonstrating for weeks, witnessing fellow protesters being hit by live ammunition and being beaten herself with electronic batons. During a protest on October 12th, she was at a demonstration near a university when a individual shot her with numerous rounds from a distance of about a yard. He then is said to have targeted her eye when she did not respond to his order to disperse. A footage of the attack depicting injuries from her eye circulated widely, and she was subsequently offered protection in Germany.
Shahinkar, in her late thirties when attacked on 18 October, only became aware what had happened when she noticed something warm on her eye. Fellow demonstrators warned her not to enter an ambulance for fear of being delivered to a police station. When she later arrived at a medical clinic, a worker told her to depart because they would not treat demonstrators. A physician examined her and sent her to a medical center, where Shahinkar said a object had accidentally hurt her eye so she would not be turned away. She published images of her injuries online, and in the new year, plainclothes officers came for her, prompting her to leave the country. She later was awarded a renowned human rights prize as a figure of the protest cause.
Universal Jurisdiction Creates Avenue for Complaint
The individuals seeking the inquiry state that the case is not seen just as a symbolic gesture with slim prospect of a concrete result. This legal principle allows complaints to be probed in a foreign nation even if the offence did not occur in that nation and the offender is not present there. The Argentinian system has particularly permissive regulations on such matters in the world.
The concept of international justice has historically led to multiple sentences and the launch of cases involving offenses perpetrated in numerous states. Cases are currently being prosecuted in several different countries.
As the petition is only for a judicial probe, and this is not a civil lawsuit, there is no request by the complainants for monetary compensation. This case would not constitute the first case against Iranian officials brought in Argentina.
