Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran living in exile has called on the United Nations to investigate the Islamic Republic’s widespread and systematic human rights abuses and atrocities committed against protesters.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres released to the media October 18, Pahlavi requested his support for the establishment of a commission of inquiry at the UN human Rights Council for investigating the responsibility of officials.
He noted that the world has witnessed in recent days the disturbing crimes being committed against protesters whose movement began “demanding justice for the brutal murder of Mahsa "Zhina" Amini by the so-called morality police for having allegedly failed to observe misogynistic regulations on compulsory observance of the hijab head covering.”
The UN’s failure to establish such a commission to hold accountable “those who order and instigate such abuses... will only perpetuate the culture of impunity,” he said, adding “The Iranian people deserve no less than other victims in the world who have had the benefit of a proper investigation of atrocities committed against them.”
He highlighted that “The Iranian courts can hardly deliver justice when they themselves are an instrument of repression, prosecuting the innocent while allowing those committing atrocities to escape accountability.”
“The day will soon come when the perpetrators of these crimes will be prosecuted either before the impartial courts of a democratic Iran, or the International Criminal Court," Pahlavi said, noting that a UN Commission of Inquiry “would help set the stage for that day.”
