The Iran Atrocities Tribunal, initiated to investigate the killing and wounding of thousands of innocent protesters in Iran in 2019, will begin a series of hearings commencing on 10th November in London to assess crimes allegedly committed by individuals in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, and President Ebrahim Raisi, and whether they constitute crimes against humanity.

The Iran Atrocities Tribunal is an independent, international People’s Tribunal with a panel consisting of members from the UK, USA, Indonesia, South Africa and Libya bringing expertise in human rights law and international relations. The hearings will run from 10-14th November 2021 at Church House in Westminster, London. The panel will publicly hear evidence from 45 witnesses, and will investigate the role of 133 Iranian Government Officials, including the highest-ranking members of the Government, in international crimes that occurred during the civilian protests which took place in November 2019. An additional 120 witness statements will also be reviewed by the Tribunal panel before the Final Judgment is delivered to the world in early 2022.

Protests broke out in Iran on 15th November 2019 across the country after the Iranian government introduced a 200% spike in fuel prices overnight, without warning, impacting the country’s most vulnerable who depend on subsidised petrol to work and live. Government forces reportedly responded to the protests with extreme brutality and violence which led to the bloodiest crackdown of the past two decades. Reports suggest that over the course of five days, the Iranian government killed and severely injured thousands of people, including children, and detained and imprisoned many more.

The killing of protesters was deliberately hidden from the world through an ‘information blackout’, where, on the afternoon of 16th November 2019, the Iranian Government implemented a near-total shutdown of the internet which lasted for a few weeks in some parts of the country. The resulting ‘information blackout’ may have allowed the police, security and military forces to commit murder while the international community’s access to Iran was almost completely cut off.

For the first time, victims and their families, who have been denied justice for two years, will now have the opportunity to seek the truth.

One witness, who will appear at the Public Hearings with a scarf, mask and sunglasses to protect her identity, is a mother whose son, an innocent bystander, was killed during the protests when a bullet was fired through his eye. He died on the way to the hospital, and his family were subsequently refused medical reports and denied access to his body for a whole week.

Another witness, a surgeon, who will be wearing a mask, hat and sunglasses, is expected to reveal that he saw a young man collapse to the floor after a bullet was fired and struck his head. The impact of the bullet caused the surgeon, who was standing nearby, to be covered in the young man’s blood.

Throughout the protests and the two months that followed, the surgeon delivered medical treatment, in secret, from his own home because he had seen and heard that wounded people were being taken away from the hospital every night at 1am in the cover of darkness… The surgeon continued to treat people at his home to ensure his patients could be protected.

The Tribunal is chaired by Wayne Jordash QC, a world leading lawyer specialising in international human rights. It was established at the initiation of three civil society organisations, Justice for Iran, Iran Human Rights and Together against the Death Penalty (ECPM) in response to the calls of survivors, and families of the victims.

Chairman of The Iran Atrocities Tribunal, Wayne Jordash QC, stated: “The Iran Atrocities Tribunal is an international People’s Tribunal for the Investigation of crimes Against humanity and gross violation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding alleged atrocities that took place in November 2019 during nationwide protests.

“To date, the Islamic Republic of Iran has failed to investigate its own responsibility, or the responsibility of its own security forces, or otherwise facilitate any independent international adjudication for any of this violence or alleged crimes. The Iran Atrocities Tribunal consists of independent and impartial jurists who will investigate these events to reveal the truth and to determine where the responsibility lies in light of general principles of law and human conscience with the aim of ending impunity for any international crimes and seeking redress for the victims.”