UN Officials Call For Inquiry Into 1988 Iran Massacre

The families of the victims of the 1988 summer executions gather in the Khawaran cemetery, which contains unidentified mass graves of political prisoners (Hrana Organization)
The families of the victims of the 1988 summer executions gather in the Khawaran cemetery, which contains unidentified mass graves of political prisoners (Hrana Organization)
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UN Officials Call For Inquiry Into 1988 Iran Massacre

The families of the victims of the 1988 summer executions gather in the Khawaran cemetery, which contains unidentified mass graves of political prisoners (Hrana Organization)
The families of the victims of the 1988 summer executions gather in the Khawaran cemetery, which contains unidentified mass graves of political prisoners (Hrana Organization)

Dozens of former United Nations officials and human rights experts called for an international investigation into the mass killings of dissidents in Iranian prisons in 1988.

Over 150 international legal and human rights experts, including former UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson, former deputy UN Secretary-General Mark Malloch-Brown, and former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell signed an open letter urging a probe into the killings of followers of the “Mujahedin-e-Khalq” and other groups in 1988 on an order from Iran's then-supreme leader Moussavi Khomeini.

“There is a systemic impunity enjoyed by those who ordered and carried out the extrajudicial executions,” they said, adding: “Many of the officials involved continue to hold positions of power including in key judicial, prosecutorial, and government bodies.”

The letter listed the names of thousands involved in the killings, including Iran's current justice minister, Seyyed Alireza Avaei.

"We appeal to the UN Human Rights Council to end the culture of impunity that exists in Iran by establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances."

The signatories also urged High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to support the establishment of such a commission.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the establishment of an international investigation committee "is a decision taken by member states."

OHCHR spokeswoman Marta Hurtado asserted that they received the letter and explained that part of the message is available to the public.

Hurtado pointed out that Human Rights Office and the Special Rapporteur on Iran reported the constant violations of human rights in the country.

Iranian officials recently defended the executions, saying the opposition were “terrorists”.



At Least 12 Dead in Indonesia Bus Crash

People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
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At Least 12 Dead in Indonesia Bus Crash

People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)
People inspect the wreckage of a passenger bus after it sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Padang Panjang, West Sumatra province, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/M.Sulthan Azzam)

A bus carrying 34 passengers sped out of control on a downhill road and overturned in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and leaving others injured, police said.
The inter-province bus was on its way to Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, from Medan in North Sumatra province when its brakes apparently malfunctioned near a bus terminal in West Sumatra’s Padang city, said Reza Chairul Akbar Sidiq, the director of West Sumatra traffic police.
The Associated Press quoted him as saying that police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities that the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of steep hills in Padang after the brakes malfunctioned.
The 12 bodies, including those of two children, were mostly pinned under the overturned bus, Sidiq said. All the victims, including 23 injured people, were taken to two nearby hospitals, he said.
Thirteen of the injured were treated for serious injuries, Sidiq said. The driver was among those in critical condition.
Local television footage showed the mangled bus on its side, surrounded by rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency, police and passersby as ambulances evacuated the injured victims and the dead.
Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.