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IRAN - UN Report Blames Islamic Republic for Mahsa Amini's Death
March 8, 2024: MARCH 8, 2024 - IRAN. UN Report Blames Islamic Republic for Mahsa Amini's Death
The Islamic Republic is responsible for the "physical violence" leading to Mahsa Amini's death in September 2022 and committed crimes against humanity during the suppression of protests, a United Nations fact-finding mission has said in a report.
The UN panel "has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms Amini's body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police," the report said.
"Based on the evidence and patterns of violence by the morality police in the enforcement of the mandatory hijab on women, the mission is satisfied that Ms Amini was subjected to physical violence that led to her death," it added.
Aged 22, Amini died on September 16, 2022, after being arrested by the Morality Police for allegedly violating Iran's mandatory headscarf law.
The report, released on March 8, also said that authorities resorted to "unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force" to quell protests erupting after Amini's death.
"The mission has … established that many of the serious human rights violations … amount to crimes against humanity – specifically those of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts," the report said.
It also said Iranian security forces were found to have sexually assaulted detainees during the months-long uprising.
"The security forces played on social and cultural stigma connected to sexual and gender-based violence to spread fear and humiliate and punish women, men and children," the report said.
The UN report found that Iranian security forces used shotguns, assault rifles, and submachine guns against demonstrators "in situations where there was no imminent threat of death or serious injury" to them, "thereby committing unlawful and extrajudicial killings."
It also found a pattern of protesters being shot intentionally in the eye.
IranWire has reported that hundreds of Iranians have sustained severe eye injuries after being hit by pellets, tear gas canisters, paintball bullets, or other projectiles used by security forces amid a brutal crackdown on largely peaceful demonstrations.
Doctors estimate at least 580 protesters have lost one or both eyes in Tehran and Kurdistan alone. The actual numbers across the country are much higher.
"The mission notes the deterrent and chilling effect of such injuries, as they permanently marked the victims, essentially 'branding' them as protesters," the UN report said.
Amini's death sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and led to months of nationwide protests. More than 500 people were killed in the ensuing crackdown by security forces, and over 20,000 people, including dozens of lawyers, were unlawfully detained.
Following biased trials, the judiciary handed down rigid sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
The Islamic Republic has so far executed at least nine young protesters.
https://iranwire.com/en/news/126206-un-report-blames-islamic-republic-for-mahsa-aminis-death/ (Source: Iranwire)
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