A collective of victims of the state-led response amid the 2022 demonstrations for "Women, Life, Freedom" has launched a pioneering legal case targeting forty specified Iranian figures of alleged international crimes.
Legal Action Launched in Argentina
The formal request for a legal inquiry to be commenced was filed within the Argentinian judicial framework. This move was undertaken by a collective of Iranian nationals with support from a human rights advocacy organization. The Argentinian courts are noted for hearing universal jurisdiction claims.
The document claims that the actions from Iranian authorities to the unrest entailed "firing bullets, non-lethal projectiles, metal pellets designed for crowd control, and various objects at civilians." The document further describes arbitrary roundups, torture in detention, and death sentences of individuals that reportedly carry on to this day.
Confidential Names
Certain agents representing the spectrum of Iran's law enforcement have been named in the legal documents, but their names are currently being kept confidential.
Individual Accounts Motivate the Case
One of the litigants, residing in the United Kingdom Mahsa Piraei, commented that the purpose "is far from revenge in a individual way, but justice and fact-finding." Her parent, Minoo Majidi, 62 years old, was shot dead in late 2022. Forensic analysis showed over 167 steel projectiles had been shot at her body at near-contact distance. She had been participating in a public demonstration regarding the demise of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was killed in custody.
Piraei, a member of Majidi's three offspring, was residing abroad at the moment of her mother's violent demise. She traveled back to Iran at considerable peril to pay respects at the burial site. Her sister Roya posted a picture of herself by their resting place with her scalp shaved on a restricted social media account. A contact circulated the photo, which spread widely, subsequently leading Roya to seek exile for Turkey.
Piraei added: "By means of court documents and documentation the goal is to preserve evidence, name crimes and avoid historical oblivion." She characterized her mother's death as "systematic in nature but part of a common procedure."
Other Litigants Consist of Victims of Blinding
The remaining complainants who can be identified are Kowsar Eftekhari and Mersedeh Shahinkar, both individuals who suffered loss of sight at close range by projectile weapons.
Eftekhari, a university-aged scholar, was hit in the right eye in late 2022. She had been protesting for an extended period, witnessing fellow demonstrators being struck by bullets and being struck herself with electronic batons. During a gathering on 12 October, she was at a protest near a educational institution when a plainclothes officer shot her with several projectiles from a distance of about a metre. He then reportedly fired at her face when she did not obey his command to disperse. A footage of the incident with injuries from her face went viral, and she was later granted asylum in Germany.
Shahinkar, aged 38 when attacked on October 18th, only understood what had occurred when she sensed something warm on her face. Fellow demonstrators cautioned her not to enter an emergency vehicle for fear of being delivered to a police station. When she later reached a health center, a worker told her to depart because they would not treat demonstrators. A medical professional examined her and referred her to a medical center, where Shahinkar said a stone had unintentionally injured her vision so she would not be denied treatment. She posted photos of her wounds online, and in early 2023, undercover agents confronted her, leading her to flee Iran. She later collected a notable international award as a representative of the movement.
International Law Principle Creates Avenue for Complaint
The collective initiating the legal probe state that the case is not seen just as a paper exercise with little chance of a tangible resolution. This legal principle permits complaints to be examined in a different state even if the offence did not take place in that jurisdiction and the suspect is not located there. Argentina has particularly permissive regulations on such claims in the world.
The concept of universal jurisdiction has in the past resulted in multiple sentences and the initiation of investigations covering violations perpetrated in many countries. Cases are presently being prosecuted in several jurisdictions.
As the application is exclusively for a legal inquiry, and this is not a civil lawsuit, there is no request by the individuals for financial restitution. This complaint would not represent the initial legal action against Iranian officials initiated in Argentina.
