A collective of individuals affected by the state-led suppression amid the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" protests has initiated a landmark criminal complaint accusing numerous specified Iranian figures of suspected human rights violations.
Judicial Move Launched in the Argentinian System
The application for a criminal investigation to be commenced was submitted within the Argentine courts. This action was made by a collective of Iranian nationals aided by a human rights documentation center. The Argentinian courts are noted for accepting international law complaints.
The complaint claims that the response from Iranian authorities to the demonstrations involved "shooting live ammunition, non-lethal projectiles, harmful pellets not intended for close-range use, and other projectiles at protesters." The case further states widespread detentions, abuse while imprisoned, and executions of participants that reportedly continue to this day.
Identities Withheld
Named individuals representing the various branches of Iran's security services have been named in the complaint, but their identities are currently being withheld from the public.
Victim Testimonies Fuel the Complaint
One of the complainants, residing in the United Kingdom Mahsa Piraei, stated that the purpose "is not revenge in a individual way, but justice and truth." Her mother, Minoo Majidi, aged 62, was killed by gunfire in September 2022. Forensic analysis indicated over 167 metal pellets had been discharged into her body at point-blank range. She had been on a public demonstration over the demise of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died while detained.
Piraei, among Majidi's three children, was living abroad at the period of her parent's violent demise. She returned to Iran at significant personal danger to visit her grave. Her sister Roya shared a image of herself by their parent's burial site with her head shorn on a personal social media account. A contact shared the image, which spread widely, ultimately leading Roya to seek exile for Turkey.
Piraei stated: "Through official complaints and evidence the aim is to maintain records, catalogue violations and avoid historical oblivion." She said her loss as "part of a pattern but part of a systematic practice."
Further Claimants Consist of Victims of Blinding
The remaining claimants who can be identified are Kowsar Eftekhari and Mersedeh Shahinkar, both victims of loss of sight at point-blank by paintball guns.
Eftekhari, a 23-year-old scholar, was shot in the right eye in late 2022. She had been in the streets for an extended period, observing fellow demonstrators being shot with lethal fire and being assaulted herself with electronic batons. During a demonstration on 12 October, she was at a rally near a university when a individual struck her with multiple rounds from a range of about a yard. He then is said to have targeted her eye when she did not comply with his order to disperse. A footage of the assault showing injuries from her face circulated widely, and she was later given refuge in Germany.
Shahinkar, in her late thirties when assaulted on October 18th, only understood what had transpired when she noticed something unusual on her face. Fellow demonstrators warned her not to board an ambulance for fear of being transported to a police station. When she finally reached a health center, a employee ordered her to go away because they would not treat protesters. A medical professional assessed her and directed her to a hospital, where Shahinkar claimed a rock had inadvertently damaged her vision so she would not be turned away. She posted images of her wounds online, and in the new year, individuals confronted her, leading her to leave the country. She later was awarded a prestigious human rights prize as a figure of the campaign.
Universal Jurisdiction Creates Avenue for Complaint
The collective initiating the legal probe say that the filing is not considered just as a legal complaint with little chance of a tangible resolution. Universal jurisdiction permits complaints to be probed in a third country even if the violation did not occur in that country and the accused is not resident there. The Argentinian system has particularly permissive rules on such matters in the world.
The principle of international justice has historically facilitated numerous guilty verdicts and the initiation of cases regarding violations carried out in many nations. Proceedings are at this time being prosecuted in various different countries.
As the application is solely for a judicial probe, and this is not a civil lawsuit, there is no demand by the litigants for financial restitution. This complaint would not represent the initial legal action against Iranian authorities pursued in Argentina.
