Movement Restrictions Imposed on Iran's Ex-President Ahmadinejad

Speaking at a side session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, Rehman unveiled his detailed report, which shows systemic state-sponsored atrocities during a brutal crackdown on dissent.

Rehman's investigations found that thousands of political prisoners, including members of minority groups like Baha'is, Kurds, and those affiliated with organizations such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) and other leftist groups, were executed in the 1980s, particularly during the summer of 1988.

The prisoners were executed following a fatwa issued by Iran's then-leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, with the approval of a four-member death committee.

The committee included Hossein Ali Nayeri, a Sharia judge; Morteza Eshraghi, a prosecutor; Ebrahim Raisi, a deputy prosecutor who later became Iran’s president; and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a representative of the ministry of intelligence.

Pourmohammadi is now campaigning for presidency to succeed Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a freak helicopter crash.

The report states that the death committee was responsible for a sweeping purge that targeted those accused of opposition to the government, many of whom were executed without a fair trial, marking a clampdown that included torture, sexual assault, and other inhuman treatments. The most intense period of the executions occurred over a few months in 1988, a chapter that has long been shrouded in secrecy and denial by Iranian officials.

“This is not a historical issue, as many people think," Rehman asserted during his presentation. "It is a current issue. There are serious concerns about gross violations of human rights that continue to this day.”

Rehman's findings highlight the continuation of oppressive tactics by Iranian authorities, linking past atrocities with ongoing human rights violations, including the recent international outcry over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, which sparked protests and global scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record. Sanctions have since been levied by the international community against Iran in the wake of the crackdowns.

The significance of Rehman’s report extends beyond its historical account as it seeks to challenge the prevailing impunity enjoyed by Iranian officials. For the first time, the atrocities have been formally classified as "genocide," a term that carries profound legal implications. The classification aligns with the definitions established by the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1951.

Rehman’s call for accountability was echoed by Wolfgang Schomburg, a former judge at the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, who spoke at the event. Schomburg emphasized the potential for the UN's findings to lead to international warrants against current Iranian figures linked to the 1980s events, which could curtail their ability to travel internationally without facing arrest.

The report, which the United Nations will formally release in the coming days, has spurred a wave of calls for action against Iran from various countries including Canada, Italy and Sweden, and rights group Amnesty International. However, the push for legal and moral accountability continues, as many of the perpetrators remain in high-ranking positions within the Iranian regime.

According to The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) Loghman Aminpour, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, and Majid Roshan Nezhad were each sentenced to six years in prison and 74 lashes for "destruction of property," along with 16 months and 74 lashes for "disturbing prison order".

The event took place amid protests in support of the nationwide uprising which followed the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Additionally, Reza Salmanzadeh received a five-year prison sentence and 74 lashes for "destruction of property," along with a two-year sentence for charges of "disrupting prison order" and "disobeying officers' orders."

While Iranian authorities blamed prisoners for the incident, evidence gathered by Amnesty International suggests they used the situation to justify a harsh crackdown, claiming it was to manage the fire and prevent escapes.

Official records document eight prisoner deaths and 61 injuries resulting from the fire.

On Thursday, Iran's Etemad reported on the "exploitation" of mine workers, noting that in addition to fatal accidents, job insecurity is a significant concern.

The report highlighted that thousands of coal, copper, iron ore, and chrome miners across Iran have staged protests lasting from several hours to weeks over the past 27 months.

Etemad's report indicated that over 83 percent of these protests demanded wage increases and addressed delayed payments, with coal miners demonstrating for extended periods.

The newspaper also pointed out that over the past two decades, mine safety and job security for workers have drastically declined, particularly in privately owned mines. Workers are increasingly employed on unstable contracts, ranging from one to three months, often with promissory notes.

The "Zemestan-Yurt mine" incident is still cited as a symbol of miners' oppression and one of the most significant documented cases of mine safety issues in Iran over the last two decades. During a 2017 explosion at the Yurt coal mine in Golestan province in north Iran, 43 workers died. At the time, none had insurance for hazardous jobs, and they had not been paid for months.

Amir Saeid Iravani voiced his criticism of the US claims in letters addressed to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council on Wednesday amid the Houthis' blockade of the Red Sea region.

The denial followed a statement from Robert Wood, the US representative at the UN, who told a Security Council briefing on Yemen in June that Iran continues to support and enable Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, violating the arms embargo.

Wood emphasized that “Iran should not be permitted to hide behind the Houthis. It must comply with the Council’s resolutions and cease its provision of weapons.”

Iravani, in his response, wrote: “On numerous occasions, Iran has made it clear that it is committed to the Security Council's relevant resolutions on the situation in Yemen and has not engaged in activities contravening these resolutions.”

However, Iran arms, trains and funds the militia, which has been at the heart of a decade-long civil war in Yemen.

Since November, the Houthis, who control Yemen's capital and its most populous regions, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

During this period, they have conducted over 60 targeted attacks on specific vessels and launched additional missiles and drones, resulting in the deaths of four sailors and kidnap of dozens more.

The attacks commenced following a call from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in early November for Muslim nations to blockade Israeli trade.

The accused, 40, was convicted of assaulting several teenage boys under the pretext of teaching football and consequently given a death sentence in a court in Tehran last year.

The boys, who were 12 and 13 years old, said the coach lured them to his house for football training. Victims claim he forced them to have sexual relations with each other, then filmed and blackmailed them, according to Iranian media outlets.

One of the students' fathers reported the coach to the police, stating: “Not long after my son's registration, I noticed his behavior had changed. His behavior had become aggressive, nervous, and withdrawn.

“After following the story with my wife, my son revealed a terrible secret that shocked us: the coach took him to his house and abused him there."

In the aftermath of the first complaint, seven other individuals reported similar experiences with the abuser.

In court, the coach denied any wrongdoing. The Tehran judges, however, found him guilty of rape and sentenced him to death. A lawyer for the defendant objected to the court's decision, arguing that he had not committed any rape but admitted sexual assault. Iran's Supreme Court subsequently reversed the death sentence, and the accused will now be retried.