Protest victims launch complaint against Iranian government

A group of victims of the Iranian government’s 2022 crackdown against anti-government protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death have filed an official complaint, according to The Guardian on December 16th.

The group accused 40 Iranian government officials of crimes against humanity. The claim was initially filed in Argentina by the Iranian group with support from the Iran Human Rights Development Documentation Center.

The claim also argues that the response from Iran’s security forces to the nationwide protests included the use of “live ammunition”, as well as the use of “paintball guns” and “metal pellets.” Iranian authorities carried out mass arrests of demonstrators, and many were subsequently subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and executions. Nationwide protests erupted and lasted well into 2023 after the death of Amini, who reportedly died in custody after being arrested for the improper wearing of her hijab.

Among the litigants who filed the complaint are Mahsa Piraei, Kowsar Eftekhari, and Mersedeh Shahinkar. Piraei, who lives in the UK, lost her mother, Minoo Majidi, 62, who was shot dead in September 2022. An autopsy later found that she had been hit by around 167 metal pellets. Eftekhari, a 23-year-old university student, was struck in her right eye in October 2022. Eftekhari was attending a protest near Tehran University when a plainclothes police officer opened fire, striking her with around seven or eight paintballs. Shahinkar was also similarly blinded in a similar attack.

Piraei stated that “staying silent would be another form of loss”. She also added that the investigation was to “preserve evidence, name crimes and prevent erasure”. Shahinkar claimed that she was later threatened by another plainclothes officer after posting images of her injuries to her Instagram account. She was later granted asylum in Germany and was nominated for the 2023 Sakharov Prize.

The filing of the complaint in Argentina as a “universal jurisdiction” means that the complaint can be be investigated in a third country. Argentina has some of most liberal ruling on universal jurisdiction claims in the world. The litigants hope that the complaint will bring a sense of justice, not just to their families, but other victims of the 2022 crackdown.

The Guardian, Maghrebi.org