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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)
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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”.

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World

One Dead, 4 Injured After China’s Qinghai Hit by Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake

A Chinese flag is seen in Shanghai’s financial district. (AFP file)
A Chinese flag is seen in Shanghai’s financial district. (AFP file)
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One Dead, 4 Injured After China’s Qinghai Hit by Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake

A Chinese flag is seen in Shanghai’s financial district. (AFP file)
A Chinese flag is seen in Shanghai’s financial district. (AFP file)

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai on Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring four, as rescuers rushed to the site in search of trapped survivors.

The quake struck a high-altitude ‌area in ‌the prefecture of Haixi in ‌Qinghai ⁠at a depth ⁠of 10 km at 5:06 p.m. Beijing time (0906 GMT) on Tuesday, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said.

Initial checks showed transport, communication, water and power lines within 50 km of ⁠the epicenter were operating normally, ‌local newspaper Qinghai ‌Daily said late on Tuesday.

Some 320 ‌people are now deployed for the ‌search operation, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

State media previously reported that all workers at coal mines near the epicenter have ‌been evacuated and authorities are assessing casualties and property damage.

The quake ⁠was ⁠followed by over a dozen aftershocks including one of magnitude 4.9.

Authorities dispatched tents, beds and blankets to quake-hit areas and got companies and charities to provide food and water for affected residents.

The epicenter was near Da Qaidam, home to the mineral-rich Emerald Lake, a popular stop on the Qinghai-Gansu tourist route.

World

France to Try 14 over Channel Disaster that Left Iraqi Kurds Dead

15 June 2026, France, Berck: People thought to be migrants, who were previously detained by the French police, run across the sand as they try to board a small boat off the coast of Berck, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
15 June 2026, France, Berck: People thought to be migrants, who were previously detained by the French police, run across the sand as they try to board a small boat off the coast of Berck, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
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France to Try 14 over Channel Disaster that Left Iraqi Kurds Dead

15 June 2026, France, Berck: People thought to be migrants, who were previously detained by the French police, run across the sand as they try to board a small boat off the coast of Berck, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
15 June 2026, France, Berck: People thought to be migrants, who were previously detained by the French police, run across the sand as they try to board a small boat off the coast of Berck, France, during an attempt to cross the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa

Fourteen people will go on trial in France over the deaths of at least 27 migrants in November 2021 in the deadliest recorded small-boat crossing of the Channel, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The defendants, linked to people-smuggling networks, are accused of playing a role in the sinking in which at least 27 people, mainly Iraqi Kurds, died when their inflatable dinghy sank in the early hours of November 24, 2021.

Four others are still believed to remain missing, AFP reported.

The sinking remains the deadliest recorded small-boat crossing of the Channel, a route used by thousands of migrants each year to reach Britain from France.

The 14 individuals, most of them born in Afghanistan and Iraq, face charges including manslaughter and criminal conspiracy, the national organized crime prosecutor's office said, for roles ranging from drivers to those who organized the crossing.

Most deny any wrongdoing, with some Iraqi Kurdish defendants saying they were migrants rather than people smugglers.

It was not immediately clear when the trial would start.

In a separate probe linked to the sinking, at least seven French military personnel are under investigation for failing to help a person in danger.

A UK inquiry in February found some of the deaths would have been "avoidable" if British and French authorities had acted sooner to rescue those onboard.

Despite several distress calls, the boat was found by a French fishing vessel nearly 12 hours after the first pleas for help were made.

By that time, most of the people on board, including seven women and two children, had drowned.

France has long been a launchpad for migrants hoping to cross the Channel and start a better life in Britain.

Efforts by Britain and France to curb the crossings have largely failed, with some 41,000 people making the journey last year, the second-highest annual total after nearly 46,000 crossings in 2022.

World

Red Cross: Congo Ebola Epidemic Yet to Peak, May Last a Year

A doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sits in an ambulance at the Ebola Virus Disease Treatment Center at the Bunia General Reference Hospital, one month after cases were confirmed in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
A doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sits in an ambulance at the Ebola Virus Disease Treatment Center at the Bunia General Reference Hospital, one month after cases were confirmed in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
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Red Cross: Congo Ebola Epidemic Yet to Peak, May Last a Year

A doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sits in an ambulance at the Ebola Virus Disease Treatment Center at the Bunia General Reference Hospital, one month after cases were confirmed in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere
A doctor wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) sits in an ambulance at the Ebola Virus Disease Treatment Center at the Bunia General Reference Hospital, one month after cases were confirmed in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 15, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere

A Red Cross official said on Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo had not yet peaked, voicing fear it could last for a ⁠year.

"It's very difficult ⁠to know exactly to what extent the epidemic is spreading ... but yes, the ⁠peak is, I think, not behind us, but in front of us," Bruno Michon, operations manager for the Ebola outbreak for The International Federation of Red Cross and Red ⁠Crescent ⁠Societies, told reporters by video link from eastern Congo.

"We are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease.”

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 808, including 192 ⁠deaths, government data ⁠showed on Monday.

The number represented the ⁠total number of confirmed cases as of Sunday, according to a situation report that documented 26 new cases and ⁠11 new ⁠deaths in the previous 24 hours.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned the window for containing the outbreak was narrowing. The worst outbreak was in West Africa in 2014-2016 and it killed more than 11,000 people.

“Diagnostics, surveillance, access to care, and community engagement must be urgently strengthened,” said Frederic Lai Manantsoa, MSF’s emergency coordinator in DRC.