Iranian dissidents have filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in New York, accusing Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi — dubbed the “Butcher of Tehran” — for being the infamous 1988 “death committee” member of the committee, which had seen some 30,000 political prisoners hanged just weeks before the Iranian leader was scheduled to visit an upcoming UN meeting in New York.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) announced the lawsuit Thursday at a news conference in Washington, D.C., accusing Raisi of torture and murder as a member of a “death committee” overseeing convictions, executions and disappearances, and in the 1988 five-year period. He tortured tens of thousands of political prisoners, mainly members of Iran’s opposition MEK (Mujahadin-e Khalq), over a period of months.
Lacey’s order is described as “a crime against humanity in violation of international law and treaties binding on Iran and the United States,” according to the legal text of the complaint shared with Breitbart News.
The suit also calls on authorities to take action against Raisi who was elected president of Iran in August 2021 in what is widely believed to have been a sham election and is expected to arrive for the UN General Assembly next month, noting previous US sanctions against him as “complicit in gross violations of human rights”.
According to the lawsuit, he will be “delivered in person” in the area during his appearance at the opening of the conference in New York.
The plaintiffs in the complaint include survivors of the 1988 massacre and relatives of the victims, including citizens of the United States, Canada and other European countries.
One Press release At Thursday’s meeting, the NCRI presented the details and basis of the complaint, noting that it was the first time the court “had an opportunity to examine allegations of serious violations of international human rights law by President Mullah, including against humanity, for which he should be held accountable.”
#NoVisa4Raisi ⁰#ProsecuteRaisiNOW
Federal indictment of Ebrahim Raisi in #1988 MassacreRemark @SoonaSamsamiU.S. Representative, National Resistance Council #Iran @POTUS @SecBlinken@SFRCdems@SenateForeignhttps://t.co/HSm8WU0jA7
— NCRI – US Office (@NCRIUS) August 25, 2022
Former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who spoke at the conference, said if Lacey visited the U.S. as planned, “he would be subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.”
Asked by Breitbart News whether the ongoing court case would have any direct or immediate impact on Raisi’s planned visit, attorney Steven Schneebaum said the question should be raised with Raisi himself.
“We don’t know if this will affect his presence at the United Nations,” he said. “If he decides not to come, maybe it’s because he’s unwilling to accept this kind of court scrutiny.”
Schneebaum, who served as the plaintiff’s lawyer, referred to the 1988 massacre, “that summer as many as 30,000 people were hanged in Tehran’s Evin and Gohardasht prisons for nothing but their principled resistance to the oppression of the mullahs. crime.”
“I say these facts are beyond question because they are,” he added. “Amnesty International, United Nations agencies and our own State Department have all reported and condemned the massacre.”
The lawsuit, scheduled for a preliminary hearing in November, faces several challenges, including granting Lacey legal immunity as Iran’s president.
However, the legal complaint explains why he is “not entitled to head of state immunity” against such actions under U.S. law.
Iran has long been accused of gross human rights violations, implement The death penalty “at an alarming rate”.
At least 226 people were executed in Iran between January and October last year, including a juvenile offender, nine women and 83 drug offenders, according to to nonprofit human rights organizations Human Rights in Iran.
Breitbart News Before report Last year, Iran was the top executioner in the Middle East, accounting for more than half of the 493 executions in the region.
Last year, the United Nations condemn Reports from Iran say LGBTQ youth are administered electric shocks, hormones and powerful psychotropic drugs, as well as another form of abuse by state authorities, which they say amount to “torture.”
December, USA imposed Sanctions were imposed on more than a dozen Iranian government officials and entities for “serious” human rights abuses, including the crackdown on protesters and activists in prisons where activists are held in brutal conditions.
Critics of the Islamic Republic of Iran last week Call Denying Raisi a visa following reports that Raisi planned to travel to New York for the annual UN meeting, warning that his attendance would “endanger national security”, help “pacify terrorists” and “reward those who assassinate the Iranian regime and kidnap Americans” attempt.”
The lawsuit comes amid reports that the Iran nuclear deal could be revived.
On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) lash out The Biden administration is willing to give Islamic theocracy a “blank check” to fund its growing terror, calling it a “huge mistake that will destabilize the Middle East, empower Russia and China, and endanger Americans.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warn The agreement will be offered to the ayatollahs, with “tens of millions of people likely to die from the nuclear arsenal” and dozens more from “Iranian terrorism facilitated by the agreement.”
In June, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence Express Unwavering support for Iranian resistance, while slamming the Biden team for new concessions to Tehran’s “tyrants,” “effectively abandoning our ally Israel” and “catastrophic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan” has left the now “adversary of freedom” more daring. Feel the “weakness” of the US government.
He also accused the Biden administration of threatening to “undermine” all the progress the Trump administration has made in marginalizing the Iranian regime.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo before a tripartite meeting on Syria in Tehran on July 19, 2022 . (Photo credit: SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite Tehran’s claims that its nuclear program is for energy purposes, world leaders, including the six countries that joined a 2015 agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities, said enriching uranium could give Iran the ability to rapidly build nuclear weapons.
despite this, current The nuclear talks could see the United States and other world powers offer economic sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for temporary restrictions on its nuclear program.
Islamic regime is it is said is very close to developing its first nuclear missile, and recently announced that it has a new long-range missile with a target range of about 900 miles.
President Joe Biden is close to a deal to revive the Iran nuclear deal, according to a former State Department official discount The regime has access to $90 billion in foreign reserves and sanctions relief for some of the world’s worst terrorists.
In addition to earning hundreds of billions of dollars, it could also be used for terror and aggression. Nor will the deal prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
