Iran: Harassment of families of victims unlawfully killed during protests must end
Amnesty International, August 21, 2023
The Iranian authorities are waging a ruthless campaign of harassment and intimidation against the families of protesters and bystanders unlawfully killed by security forces during the “Woman Life Freedom” uprising to force them into staying silent ahead of the one-year anniversary of the nationwide protests and the killings of their loved ones.
Almost a year since the start of the popular uprising that engulfed the country following the death in custody of Mahsa/Zhina Amini in September 2022, the authorities have refused to hold anyone to account for the unlawful killings of hundreds of men, women and children by security and intelligence forces during their deadly crackdown on nationwide protests between September and December 2022. Instead, they have continued to conceal the truth about the real death toll; repeatedly denied responsibility for the killings; and refused to conduct thorough, independent and impartial criminal investigations to identify those responsible for ordering, planning and carrying out the killings.
In parallel, the authorities have orchestrated a cruel campaign of harassment and intimidation against victims’ families for seeking truth and justice, compounding their anguish and suffering in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment. The authorities have subjected bereaved relatives to a catalogue of human rights violations including beatings, arbitrary arrest and detention, unjust prosecutions, and unlawful surveillance. The authorities have also denied the families the right to hold peaceful gatherings at their loved ones’ gravesites, have damaged and desecrated the graves of those unlawfully killed, and threatened to exhume victims and rebury them in unidentified locations. These violations are being perpetrated as part of a wider campaign of harassment against victims’ families that started in the immediate aftermath of the unlawful killings of their loved ones when authorities withheld victims’ bodies, threatened to bury victims in unidentified graves, and restricted funeral and commemoration ceremonies.
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