The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi took his first trip abroad to Tajikistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Thursday, despite being on a US sanction list for his human rights abuses.
Since Raisi’s installment as the illegitimate mullahs’ president, there have been ringing condemnations and growing calls by human rights organizations for his prosecution as a criminal.
Raisi was deeply involved in the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the summer of 1988, many of whom were members or supporters of the regime’s opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). For the past 33 years, the families of the victims have been continuing to seek justice for their loved ones.
Rather than the international community stepping in to prosecute Raisi for his involvement in one of the worst crimes against humanity in Iran, the ‘culture of impunity’ within the regime, that has protected many of the criminals and abusers of human rights who hold many senior positions in the Iranian government, has allowed Raisi to rise ranks within the regime to serve as their president, without being questioned.
Amnesty International has stated, “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.”
The lack of international investigations into Raisi’s role in the murder of thousands of innocent civilians has emboldened the regime. Prior to taking office as the president, Raisi played a key role in the suppression of protesters and activists as the head of the judiciary.
They stated that Raisi must be investigated and face prosecution for his crimes against humanity instead of being legitimized and accepted by global forums.
The European Union, and more specifically their foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, have only strengthened the ‘culture of impunity’ within the mullahs’ government with their appeasement policies and questionable actions. At Raisi’s presidential inauguration on August 5, Borrell authorized a senior EU official to travel to Tehran to attend the event.
This gesture, along with the concessions that the EU has continued to give to the regime in order to negotiate agreements on the Iranian nuclear deal is nothing more than an insult to the Iranian people, millions of whom are suffering greatly under the control of the mullahs’ theocracy.
As many Iran observers said, that one is reminded of Winston Churchill’s warning that appeasers keep feeding the crocodile hoping it will eat them last. Iran has taken Europe’s nuclear concessions to the bank.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has recently condemned the regime’s continuous violations in two of their latest reports, whilst many international powers have chosen to look the way.
Indeed, as cruel as murdering thousands of people was in 1988, the cruelty of allowing the murderers to freely travel the world cannot be overstated.
