The Norway-based Victims Families for Transitional Justice has condemned the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for its honoring of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, infamously dubbed the “Butcher of Tehran”.
The tribute has sparked global outrage, seen as an insult to the countless victims of Raisi’s oppressive rule under the Islamic rule of Iran.
Raisi, a hard-liner and protégé of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was implicated in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and was instrumental in the suppression of dissent throughout his tenure leading to the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the wake of the 2022 uprising.
As head of the Iranian judiciary and later as president, his administration was marked by crackdowns on human rights, where hundreds of dissidents were detained, and many subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
“Offering condolences and tributes to a regime notorious for its systemic human rights abuses, support of terrorism, and suppression of dissent, essentially legitimizes its heinous actions,” stated the group from Norway.
The organization highlighted that under Raisi’s leadership, human rights violations persisted, including the suppression of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, resulting in over 20,000 arrests and the deaths of more than 500, including children. These atrocities were confirmed by a UN fact-finding mission in March as crimes against humanity.
The group’s March letter to the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran also detailed ongoing violations, including the destruction of graves and harassment of families of political prisoners, urging immediate international intervention.
Last year the UN revealed that Iran had executed record numbers of citizens in 2023, voting at least 834, while inviting Iran to chair a human rights dialogue in November.
