Doctor Tells Iran Tribunal Agents Were Looking For Wounded Protesters
In the third day of the Iran Atrocities Tribunal in London the brother of a victim who was killed by security forces in the November 2019 protests testified.
In the third day of the Iran Atrocities Tribunal in London the brother of a victim who was killed by security forces in the November 2019 protests testified.
Two human rights experts who have followed the aftermath of the protests and have documented atrocities, as well as a doctor who was on duty during the protests testified.
Bahar Saba, a researcher from Amnesty International told the Tribunal that weapons used by security forces in the protests show that they intended to kill unarmed demonstrators.
The tribunal, organized by several human rights groups convened in London Wednesday to examine the atrocities and violence against protesters in Iran in November 2019. Iran declined an invitation from the organizers to take part.
Saba also told the panel of judges that security forces had fired tear gas into homes where children were present and fired pellet guns at underage people in the streets. A 16-year-old lost his eye as a result.
Shadi Sadr, a human rights expert and activist representing Justice for Iran, said that her organization had collected 2,298 videos of the protests showing violence and killing of demonstrators and onlookers in 86 cities and 29 provinces. After verifying the images, in 310 videos shooting was audible or dead bodies could be seen.
In the morning session, witness number 31, whose bother was shot dead by security forces, testified. He said that the military prosecutor at the time refused to name the officer responsible for his brother’s death but told him “We will deal with him.” Later, the family received information from the military court that security forces had fired 700 bullets at protesters, despite initial denials.
The witness, whose identity was disguised to protect his security in Iran, said that on the day of his brother’s burial, the police closed schools around the cemetery and took up position on the roofs, ready to open fire in case of any spontaneous protests.
A doctor, who testified from Iran and was tagged as witness 109, said that security agents were canvassing patients to identify any wounded protesters and were not allowing the hospital to admit any casualties from the protests.
The four-day Tribunal heard numerous testimonies or recorded videos from Iran. The organizers say that Iranian officials who ordered security forces to kill protesters should remain unpunished. They demand the United Nations forms an investigative committee to look into the violence that killed hundreds of unarmed protesters. Reuters reported in December 2019 that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered to suppress the protests and up to 1,500 people were killed.
The Iran Atrocities Tribunal convened in London Wednesday with testimonies from family members who sent recorded messages or testified via video on the alleged killing of their relative in protests in November 2019.
Regina Paulose, a member of the tribunal's counsel and an attorney who focuses on genocide and crimes against humanity, told Iran International that there was no “question of impunity” for Iran’s leaders. "The people's tribunal makes it known that… the leaders have to be accountable," she said.
While ‘atrocity’ is not a legal term, the tribunal follows the model of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, which was held 2009 to 2014 to review alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestinians following the notion of ‘people’s tribunals’ advocated by British philosopher Bertrand Russell.
"When a similar tribunal was held for Palestine, [Iran's] Press TV was probably the only media outlet in the world that broadcast it live," journalist Mehdi Mahdavi-Azad said. "When such tribunals are concerning itself, they boycott them and make no mention at all.”
Mahboubeh Ramezanifard, mother of Pejman Gholipour, told the tribunal in a recorded message that she had kept her son’s “bloody clothes to show the world as evidence that my child was murdered.” Ramezanifard said her son’s jacket had “holes on both sides because he was shot with a live bullet."
In the afternoon session, United States-based opposition activist Masih Alinejad testified from her “own findings” that the Iranian authorities had made the families of those killed in the protests bury the corpses in remote places. Alinejad said this was “psychological torture.”
Alinejad also said “authorities” had threatened families not to talk to foreign media and has asked two for the cost of the bullet used to kill them. "The families believe there is no justice in Iran,” she said. “You can take your complaint against murderers to the murderers themselves.”
"We want this tribunal to hear the truth from witnesses," Shadi Sadr, a director of Justice for Iran, one of the tribunal organizers, told Iran International Wednesday.
Speaking via video to the tribunal, Nahid Shirbisheh said her son Pouya had been shot in the head while protesting peacefully alongside his mother in Karaj. She said hers was the first family to openly tell the world about “the atrocities of the Islamic Republic.”
"We didn't fear the consequences,” she said. “As a result, we have constantly been threatened and detained. Pouya's father is still in prison, in solitary confinement for seeking justice.”
The tribunal will in the next few days also hear the testimony of three Iranian police officers, a judicial official, and two doctors who tended to the wounded at their offices or homes to avoid arrest. These witnesses have travelled to London secretly.
