🔗 Share this article

A coalition of victims of the government response amid the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" protests has launched a first-of-its-kind judicial filing naming numerous named Iranian officials of alleged crimes against humanity.

Legal Action Launched in the Argentinian System

The application for a legal inquiry to be commenced was lodged within the Argentinian legal system. This move was made by a group of Iranians with support from a non-profit legal group. Argentina's judicial system are noted for accommodating universal jurisdiction claims.

The filing asserts that the actions from Iranian authorities to the protests involved "firing bullets, paintball guns, steel shot not intended for short distances, and various objects at demonstrators." The case further states widespread detentions, custodial torture, and executions of protesters that are said to carry on to this day.

Identities Withheld

Named individuals representing the various branches of Iran's intelligence apparatus have been listed in the legal documents, but their names are currently being maintained under seal.

Personal Stories Motivate the Complaint

One of the complainants, UK-based Mahsa Piraei, stated that the purpose "is far from revenge in a individual way, but responsibility and transparency." Her mother, Minoo Majidi, aged 62, was fatally shot in late 2022. Medical examinations revealed over 167 harmful shots had been shot at her body at point-blank range. She had been on a gathering over the death of Mahsa Amini, a youthful Kurdish woman who lost her life after arrest.

Piraei, one of Majidi's three offspring, was living abroad at the time of her parent's brutal death. She traveled back to Iran at considerable peril to visit her grave. Her sister Roya posted a picture of herself by their parent's burial site with her scalp shaved on a private social media account. A acquaintance published the image, which went viral, eventually forcing Roya to flee for Turkey.

Piraei added: "Through legal filings and evidence the aim is to preserve evidence, name crimes and stop the disappearance." She characterized her loss as "not an isolated incident but part of a widespread tactic."

Further Claimants Include Those Shot in the Eye

The remaining claimants who can be identified are Kowsar Eftekhari and Mersedeh Shahinkar, both survivors of eye injuries at short distance by marker guns.

Eftekhari, a young student, was shot in the right eye in autumn 2022. She had been in the streets for weeks, observing fellow demonstrators being struck by lethal fire and being struck herself with shock weapons. During a protest on 12 October, she was at a protest near a educational institution when a undercover agent fired at her with numerous projectiles from a distance of about a yard. He then is said to have shot her her eye when she did not comply with his demand to disperse. A video of the incident depicting blood pouring from her eye spread online, and she was later offered protection in Germany.

Shahinkar, aged 38 when injured on 18 October, only realized what had happened when she noticed something warm on her face. Fellow individuals warned her not to enter an ambulance for fear of being transported to a detention center. When she eventually got to a treatment facility, a worker told her to depart because they would not treat protesters. A medical professional saw her and referred her to a medical center, where Shahinkar said a rock had unintentionally hurt her eye so she would not be refused care. She posted images of her injuries online, and in early 2023, individuals confronted her, causing her to leave the country. She later received a prestigious human rights prize as a symbol of the campaign.

International Law Principle Creates Avenue for Case

The collective seeking the inquiry assert that the filing is not considered just as a symbolic gesture with slim prospect of a tangible resolution. The concept allows complaints to be examined in a foreign nation even if the violation did not happen in that country and the accused is not resident there. The Argentinian system has particularly permissive regulations on such matters in the world.

The concept of international justice has in the past facilitated multiple sentences and the opening of investigations involving crimes committed in dozens of states. Proceedings are currently being pursued in various different countries.

As the request is only for a legal inquiry, and this is not seeking financial compensation, there is no demand by the complainants for financial restitution. This case would not represent the first case against Iranian figures brought in Argentina.