March 17th, 2013
Following the Truth Commission hearing in London, which was held between 18th and 22nd June 2012 and was attended by 75 witnesses, the Tribunal hearing was held in The Hague between 25th and 27th October 2012. The hearing was attended by 19 witnesses.
Following an unprecedented ruling from The Hague in February 2013, the Tribunal found the Islamic Republic of Iran guilty of gross violations of human rights against its citizens and accountable for the systematic and widespread commission of crimes against humanity in Iran between 1980 and 1988. These crimes were committed against the country’s political prisoners when over 20,000 citizens were tortured and executed.
The Tribunal met in London on 15th March 2013 for presentation of its 52 pages judgment consisting of 169 articles. Professor John Cooper, chair of the International Legal Steering Committee of the Iran Tribunal, commenced the event. Following Professor Cooper’s speech, Judge Johann Kreigler delivered the judgement and substantiated the evidences upon which the ruling was issued. Thereafter, Professor Payam Akhavan, Iran Tribunal’s chief prosecutor, discussed and analyzed the lawsuit against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Subsequently, Mr. Behrooz Partow, representing Iran Tribunal campaign, provided a summary of the work carried out by the campaign over the past five years.
The meeting in London was followed by a news conference. The conference was attended by Judge Johann Kriegler, John Cooper, Payam Akhavan, Ann Burley (Member of Truth Commission), Sir Geoffrey Nice (Member of the prosecution team), Mother Esmat Vatanparast, who lost nine members of her family including, three brothers, two daughters, her 11 year old nephew, her son-in-law and his two brothers, Leila Ghalebani, who last his two brothers during the 1980s political mass killings and Behrooz Partow.
Hamid Sabi, member of the International Legal Steering Committee of the Iran Tribunal and the chief of the legal team at both hearings, was the administrator of the final stage of the court. The event following the conclusion of the final stage of the court attracted the attention of Iranian and international media outlets and was streamed live on the Internet and over satellite.
Hamid Sabi announced that Iran Tribunal’s judges have written a letter to Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, requesting a Commission of Inquiry be established to investigate the murder of thousands of political prisoners and other gross human rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1980s. Attached to this letter, were evidences and documents retrieved and produced during the two court hearings. Furthermore, the Secretary-General has been asked to make these documents available to all state members of the United Nations.