“Today, a decision has been taken to prosecute an Iranian citizen suspected of committing grave war crimes and murder in Iran during 1988,” Sweden’s public prosecutor announced.
In the summer of 1988, as many as 5,000 prisoners were executed in Iran. The person indicted in Sweden was deputy prosecutor at Gohardasht prison at the time. The person is accused of “intentionally killing” a large number of prisoners who sympathized with opposition groups and leftists.
The killings also took place during the Iran-Iraq war and the Swedish indictment said there is a possible connection between the conflict and the executions of sympathizers of the opposition group the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), which cooperated with the Iraqi army.
“War crimes are considered to be some of the most serious criminal acts not only within our national legislation, but also within the international law. These types of crimes are regarded as so grave that, irrespective of who committed them or where they were committed, national courts are able and obligated to conduct proceedings where necessary. Therefore, legal proceedings can be initiated also in Sweden, due to international obligations and the principle of universal jurisdiction,” said public prosecutor Kristina Lindhoff Carleson.
Amnesty International welcomed the news as a “momentous step towards justice for the victims of #1988massacres and a strong message to Iran's authorities that impunity will not last forever.”
Iran’s president-elect, Ebrahim Raisi, was deputy prosecutor general of Tehran at the time of the executions and is believed to have sat on a four-person “death committee” that oversaw the prison massacres.
Victims and witnesses from various countries will be heard during the trial, which is expected to begin on August 10 and continue through April.
