MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd November, 2022) United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) member countries should vote to establish an independent mission to investigate Iran's violent repression of the protests, which hit the country in mid-September after Mahsa Amini's death, as a "first step toward accountability," a prominent watchdog said on Wednesday.
The UNHRC will hold a special session on human rights violations in Iran on Thursday.
"Iranian authorities seem determined to unleash brutal force to crush protests and have ignored calls to investigate the mountains of evidence of serious rights violations," Tara Sepehri Far, a senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "The UN Human Rights Council should shine a spotlight on the deepening repression and create an independent mechanism to investigate Iranian government abuses and hold those responsible accountable."
The watchdog added that videos circulated on social media show that authorities have deployed special forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units "armed with military assault rifles, vehicle-mounted DShK 12.7mm heavy machine guns, and armored vehicles."
On Tuesday, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Iranian courts issued more than 1,000 guilty verdicts against participants of recent anti-government riots in Tehran.
Violent riots broke out in Iran on September 16 after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in police custody after being detained for wearing an "improper" hijab. Many Iranian citizens blamed the morality police of Amini's death, alleging that law enforcement officers hit her in the head. During the protests, which are still ongoing, members of Iran's security forces were attacked and some were killed in clashes with rioters. Tehran believes the unrest was instigated from abroad. Several death sentences have been issued against those involved in the riots.
