UN slams Iran's protest crackdown as 'crimes against humanity'

A UN fact-finding mission (FFM) investigating Iran's response to the 2022 protests has denounced the regime's actions as constituting crimes against humanity. Initiated in November 2022, following nationwide protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, the FFM's report has asserted that the Iranian government systematically violated human rights, particularly targeting women and girls.

The FFM's investigation, corroborating reports from sources like The Guardian, has brought to noticea harrowing pattern of gender-specific targeting.

Female protesters were deliberately singled out, facing close-range shootings aimed at their faces and genitals—a stark testament to the regime's brutality against its own citizens.

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Grave violations

The report catalogues a litany of atrocities, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, and persecution, perpetrated against civilians expressing dissent, notably women and girls.

Human Rights Watch estimates over 500 fatalities, including 68 children, with more than 20,000 arrests during the protests.

Describing the regime's actions as a systematic assault on fundamental rights, the FFM underscores the targeted persecution of women, girls, and advocates for gender equality.

Arrested individuals, including children, faced beatings, rape, electrocution, and forced nudity, revealing a campaign of terror orchestrated by Iranian authorities.

The report condemns the regime's flagrant disregard for due process, highlighting nine executions without fair trials. These extrajudicial killings constitute unlawful deprivation of life and contravene international prohibitions against torture and ill-treatment. Despite calls for cooperation, Iranian authorities rebuffed the FFM's requests for dialogue.

The UN report has demandedaccountability from Iranian authorities, urging them to deliver justice, truth, and reparations to victims and their families.

As the report surfaces, human rights organisations highlight the Iranian government's relentless targeting of protesters' families, journalists, activists, lawyers, and doctors. Amnesty International's recent findings also shed light ona draconian crackdown, particularly on women and girls, enforcing compulsory hijab laws and subjecting them to surveillance, policing, and inhumane punishments.

(With inputs from agencies)