Meet the New Master of Iran, Ebrahim Raeisi, Also Accused of Human Rights Crimes

Iranians have voted in Presidential elections, on Friday 18th, to choose a new leader to replace Hassan Rouhani, who has been in office since 3 August 2013.

Also ReadIranians Elect Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi as New President

After finalizing vote count, judiciary chief Ebrahim Raeisi was named the winner of the Iranian presidential elections 2021 in a landslide victory; He gained 17.92 million votes (which accounts for 61.9% of votes).

The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, decried the victory of Raeisi saying he’d better be investigated over human rights violations he committed.

The organization reported also that the newly elected president is accused of human rights crimes including humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture.

Amnesty also highlighted that Ebrahim Raeisi was part of the ‘death commission’ partners which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed a lot of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988.

The presidential elections in Iran were also said to have been unfair and  a sham; women, members of religious minorities and anti-regime activists were not allowed to vote or become a candidate for elections.

Ebrahim Raisi, who has been a Chief Justice in Iran since 2019, is believed to have arrested multi-human rights defenders, anti-regime as well as have persecuted minorities.

In his judicial term, he also granted blanket immunity to government officials and security forces responsible for the killings to never be questioned or investigated.

A lot of people have called to boycott the sham elections in Iran; Families of the victims of the Ukrainian plane had decided not to participate in the vote. In Rome and Brussels protesters gathered in front of embassies calling for regime change and a boycott of sham elections.

Furthermore, reports from 1,200 observers in different Iranian cities show that the voter participation in the 2021 presidential elections was below 10%. However, the government is determined to announce it 5 times higher.

Social media users have slammed Amnesty International's call to investigate Raisi; defending that it had years to probe into his human rights’ violations. However, it waited until he became president to do so.

An Academic and political analyst, Sabah Al-Khozai, slammed Amnesty International’s report; saying that it is trying to cover Iran’s human rights violation; adding that according to Reuters, Raeisi is accused of mass executions since 1988 and the killing of opponents, with the latest being during the 2019 gasoline protests and claiming the lives of 1,500 people.

Al-Khozai said Amnesty estimated the number of victims at around 304 and accused it of complimenting the Iranian regime. 

Ebrahim Raeisi ran for presidency in 2017 but lost to Hassan Rouhani, 57% to 38.3%. The Chief of Justice will take over as a new president on August 3, when the incumbent government completes its two terms in office.