Orchestrated months ahead under the strict orders of then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and the highest regime authorities, it remains one of the darkest chapters in human rights violations.
Categorically, “crimes against humanity” are violent actions that intentionally undermine human dignity. They encompass state-driven suppression aiming to quell dissent and large-scale operations targeting specific groups. The 1988 atrocity, targeting individuals not even involved in armed conflicts, epitomizes this definition.
Claims from the Iranian judiciary suggest that those participating in armed confrontations should be executed on the spot, eliminating the possibility of them facing sham trials or imprisonment.
Coined by Raphael Lemkin and subsequently recognized by the United Nations in 1948, genocide involves deliberate acts aimed at annihilating specific racial, ethnic, national, religious, or ideological groups.
Article 4 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide stresses that everyone, from state rulers to private individuals, involved in such heinous acts must face punishment. Moreover, the weight of such a crime isn’t diminished over time, ensuring perpetual accountability.
The Free Iran World Summit 2023 recently spotlighted this tragic event. It emphasized the imperative to categorize the 1988 massacre appropriately and pursue justice against those responsible, including the present regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi.
Noteworthy figures such as Professor Ariel E Dulitzky and Prof. Melanie O’Brien have shared their insights, acknowledging the massacre’s alignment with the definitions of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Dulitzky remarked on the extensive victimization in cases like the 1988 massacre, stating that not only the disappeared but their entire families suffer, while O’Brien pointed out the alarming reality of those involved in the massacre being elevated to higher government positions.
This is not merely a legal or political mission; it’s a moral responsibility for global citizens. Every human rights violation is an affront to humanity itself. Together, in unified determination, we must ensure justice prevails and prevent the repetition of such heart-wrenching tragedies.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu
