Iran: Mahsa Amini is a victim of state brutality & repression - Press Conference | United Nations

A UN Special Rapporteur informed that the UN has received reports that state authorities in Iran have killed at least 27 children since the beginning of the protests on the 16th of September. Briefing journalists today (27 Oct) in New York, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, said that “unfortunate as it was that Gina Mahsa Amini was killed on 16th of September, she is not the first woman who has faced these brutal consequences, nor was she the last one”. According to Rehman, the overall figure of deaths is a minimum of 250 people in the last 40 days. The human rights expert explained that “Iran is in turmoil in part as a consequence of the killing of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman from Kurdish minority.” In Rehman’s view, Amini is “a victim of state brutality and state repression.” The Special Rapporteur remembered that, on the 22nd of September, together with seven special procedures mandate holders, he denounced the crackdown on protesters and urged authorities “to immediately stop the use of lethal force in policing peaceful assemblies to avoid further violence, to hold an independent, impartial and prompt investigation into depth into the death of Mahsa Amini, to make the findings of the investigation public and to hold all perpetrators accountable.” According to him, “there were similar calls from the United Nations and all around the world.” More than a month later, Rehman says that “it is clear that the so-called investigations into the death of Gina Mahsa Amini have failed the minimum requirements of impartiality and independence.” The expert noted that her death “has given way to huge waves of protests spanning the geography of the country, its provinces, cities, and social strata, and these protests have called for change.” He also said that “the slogan ‘women, life and freedom’ has become a slogan of that nation.” Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and work on a voluntary basis. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.


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