01/02/2022
The second hearing of the Iran Atrocities Tribunal is due to be held from 4th to 6th of February 2022 in London, Church House where more witnesses will give their evidence.
Dear friends
I am writing to draw your attention to the importance of the Iran Atrocities Tribunal, also known as the ‘Aban Tribunal’. I would like to appeal for your support for this important tribunal.
The Tribunal aims to investigate the crimes against humanity committed by the Islamic regime during the crackdown of the protesters who were demonstrating against the Islamic regime in November 2019 in Iran.
The first hearing was held in November 2021in London-UK. The witnesses bravely attended the Tribunal to testify mainly through videos, some using their real names, and without covering their faces. They talked about their anguish of being arrested and tortured for participating in the demonstration. There were also parents’ testimonies and they described the heart-breaking suffering of losing their children. Some of the parents, who lost their daughters and sons, were not even allowed to grieve for their losses. Among them was the mother of an 18-year-old, Pejman Gholipour, who showed her son’s room and his bloody clothes she had kept as his memorial. These families were even banned from holding funerals for their children, they have been constantly threatened by the security forces that they must not speak to the media, or even try to investigate who killed their children.
It is amazing how the hearing inspired others and gave hope to more survivors and their families that achieving justice is possible. Following the first hearing, more than a hundred people, who were also tortured in prison in November 2019, contacted the tribunal and announced that they are ready to attend as witnesses. The tribunal is a significant milestone in the justice-seeking movement in Iran.
The second hearing is due to be held from 4th to 6th of February 2022 in London where more witnesses will give their evidence.
Reports from various sources estimated that in November 2019, up to 1500 people were shot dead, more than 8000 were arrested and thousands were wounded. Please see the attached information for further detail of the Tribunal hearing.
The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) has continuously campaigned to expose the crimes committed by the regime in November 2019, publicise the situation of detainees of November 2019, and has been urging the international community to take action and pressure the Islamic regime to release them. CFPPI welcomed the tribunal, supported the formation, and promoted its hearing. This is a tribunal that belongs to all of us; it belongs to every human being who believes that freedom from torture is not a privilege, it is a universal right. The tribunal is investigating a crime against humanity committed by the Islamic regime in Iran, but this has far-reaching consequences for all the countries that use torture as an instrument to silence political dissents. The work of this tribunal is related to everyone around the world. After all, a crime against humanity is a crime against all.
I would like to ask you to help us raise the importance of this historic tribunal. You could support by stating the importance of the Aban Tribunal, addressing your government and the UN Human Rights Council to take on board the findings of this tribunal and take steps to seriously investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Islamic regime in Iran during November 2019.
Please find further information enclosed with this letter (Aban Tribunal Factsheet) as well as some of the statements issued by members of parliaments and associations.
Shiva Mahbobi
Spokeswoman for Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)
For more information, please see the link below:
Aban Tribunal website: https://abantribunal.com
Further information on the crackdown on protesters in November 2019 in Iran:
CFPPI report: CFPPI Report on November 2019
Amnesty International report: Report Amnesty November2019-Iran