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Iran Violations May Amount to Crimes Against Humanity, Says UN Expert

In this file photo obtained by AFP outside Iran and taken on on September 20, 2022, a bin burns in the middle of an intersection during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the "morality police", in Tehran. (AFP)
In this file photo obtained by AFP outside Iran and taken on on September 20, 2022, a bin burns in the middle of an intersection during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the "morality police", in Tehran. (AFP)
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Iran Violations May Amount to Crimes Against Humanity, Says UN Expert

In this file photo obtained by AFP outside Iran and taken on on September 20, 2022, a bin burns in the middle of an intersection during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the "morality police", in Tehran. (AFP)
In this file photo obtained by AFP outside Iran and taken on on September 20, 2022, a bin burns in the middle of an intersection during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the "morality police", in Tehran. (AFP)

Iran's authorities have committed violations in recent months that may amount to crimes against humanity, a UN-appointed expert told the Human Rights Council on Monday, citing cases of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, sexual violence and persecution.

Iran has been swept by protests since the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody last September.

Addressing the Geneva-based council, Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, said he had evidence that Amini died "as a result of beatings by the state morality police".

Iran's state coroner has said Amini died from pre-existing medical conditions, not blows to the head and limbs.

Rehman added that the scale and gravity of crimes committed by authorities as part of a broader crackdown against protests following her death "points to the possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity".

He voiced outrage at the Execution of at least four people linked to the protests and said that a total of 143 people had been executed in the country since January following "grossly unfair trials".

Iran's Ambassador Ali Bahreini told the Geneva-based council that the allegations were imaginary and Iran was being singled out and targeted in the council.

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7 More Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
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7 More Turkish Soldiers Die from Methane Gas in Iraqi Cave, Raising Deaths to 12

FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
FILE PHOTO: A Turkish flag flies on a passenger ferry with the Bosphorus in the background in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Seven more Turkish soldiers have died from methane gas poisoning following a cave search operation in northern Iraq, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said Monday, bringing the death toll to 12. The soldiers had been searching for the remains of a fellow soldier previously killed by Kurdish militants.

The troops were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, according to the ministry. Five of the soldiers died Sunday from the colorless, odorless, flammable gas that can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration, and seven more succumbed on Monday, Reuters reported.

“We pray for God’s mercy upon our heroic martyrs who lost their lives in this tragic event,” the ministry said Monday, also expressing hope for a rapid recovery for other troops that were affected.

It said Defense Minister Yasar Guler and armed forces' commanders were traveling to the region to carry out “inspections and evaluations” and attend a ceremony as the soldiers were flown to their hometowns for burial.

Speaking at the ceremony, Guler commended the troops' “great courage and sacrifice,” adding: “Our grief is immense and our feelings are beyond words.”

The ministry said the incident took place in the “Claw-Lock Operation region” — a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq in April 2022.

There was no immediate information on the condition of the seven other soldiers who were affected by the gas.

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict that has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.

According to the ministry, the Turkish unit overcome by methane gas had been searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear mission in May 2022. Recovery teams have been scouring the area for the past three years.

The cave where the incident occurred sits at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 feet) and had previously been used by the PKK as a field hospital.