{"id":83702,"date":"2021-10-26T12:31:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T10:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/?p=83702"},"modified":"2021-10-26T14:51:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T12:51:13","slug":"switzerland-relaunching-iranian-cold-case-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/83702-switzerland-relaunching-iranian-cold-case-genocide.html","title":{"rendered":"Why Switzerland is relaunching an Iranian cold case for \"genocide\""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The cold case of an Iranian dissident assassinated in Switzerland 30 years ago was ordered reopened on September 27 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court, on suspicions of \u201cgenocide or crimes against humanity\u201d. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The case of Kazem Rajavi, a prominent Iranian dissident assassinated in the Geneva area in 1990, is worthy of a thriller. Swiss prosecutors linked his murder to agents of the Iranian regime, but they escaped the net. In 2020, as the case was set to be closed, the dead man\u2019s brother appealed, and on September 27, 2021, the Federal Criminal Court ordered that it be reopened as a component of possible genocide or crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back last year, when prosecutors in canton Vaud announced that they planned to close the case under a 30-year statute of limitations, lawyers for the victim\u2019s brother Saleh Rajavi appealed on grounds that the murder was \"in direct relation with the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, perpetrated in Iran in the second half of the year 1988 under the cover of the fatwa pronounced by the Supreme Leader Khomeini\u201d. Rajavi\u2019s Geneva-based lawyer Nils De Dardel explains that, \u201creferring to many legal opinions including Amnesty International, we highlighted that this murder was part of the Iranian regime\u2019s plan to kill all active members of the opposition and was linked to the massacre of political prisoners. In this context, it constitutes genocide and crimes against humanity, for which there is no statute of limitations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maryam-Kazem-Rajavi.jpg\" alt=\"Maryam Rajavi paying tribute to the deceased Kazem Rajavi.\" class=\"wp-image-83721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maryam-Kazem-Rajavi.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maryam-Kazem-Rajavi-730x573.jpg 730w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption>Maryam Rajavi, Iranian opposition leader and wife of Kazem Rajavi's brother, paying tribute to the deceased.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Switzerland, international crimes like genocide and crimes against humanity fall to the Federal Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to investigate. Canton Vaud referred to it, but the OAG ruled that provisions on genocide and crimes against humanity were not introduced into the Swiss Criminal Code until after 1990 and could not be applied retroactively. The brother appealed again, to the Federal Criminal Court. This court decided differently. Referring to the findings of the Vaud investigation, it concluded that \u201cthe assassination in question may indeed have been committed with the intention of committing genocide or crimes against humanity. These crimes (\u2026) can be prosecuted without any time limit. It consequently falls to the OAG to take the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Genocide in international and national law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEven if it doesn\u2019t go to court, it helps shape the narrative of systematic human rights abuses by the Iranian regime,\u201d says Philip Grant, director of Swiss anti-impunity NGO TRIAL International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This case spotlights the fact that Swiss law has a broader definition of genocide than international law. Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide is defined as \u201cacts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group\u201d. This definition is echoed in the Statute of the International Criminal Court. But some countries take it further. For example, Canadian law says \u201cany identifiable group\u201d and its Truth Commission labelled the residential school system as a case of \u201ccultural genocide\u201d against indigenous people. And in Switzerland, an amendment to the Criminal Code in 2000 considers that genocide can be committed against \u201csocial and political\u201d groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Swiss international criminal law expert Gu\u00e9na\u00ebl Mettraux thinks it would be a \u201cbit of a stretch\u201d to prosecute the Rajavi case for genocide. \u201cIf I were a prosecutor in this case, I would avoid unnecessary difficulties,\u201d he told Justice Info. \u201cThis case could more easily qualify as a crime against humanity, without the legal and evidential challenges associated with the notion of genocide.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grant agrees. A prosecution for genocide is \u201cprobably not going to happen\u201d, he told Justice Info. A crucial element is \u201cintent\u201d to destroy a protected group \u201cas such\u201d, which has historically been very hard to prove. \u201cIt\u2019s much more likely to be investigated for crimes against humanity,\u201d he told Justice Info.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, trying to prosecute for genocide could set an international precedent beyond the narrow confines of the Genocide Convention, Mettraux adds. The more countries widen their definition of this crime, the more pressure there might be for it to be widened in international law. \u201cA lot of people are frustrated with how narrow the definition of the Genocide Convention is and think it is important to broaden it to political groups,\u201d he says. Mettraux sees in the decision a sign that Switzerland is committed to upholding international criminal law not just abroad, but also at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A crime against humanity?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Crimes against humanity are defined in Swiss and international law as \u201cpart of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population\u201d, with knowledge of the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rajavi was shot dead by a commando, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tdg.ch\/les-tueurs-a-la-casquette-bleue-venaient-diran-822584367659\">driving his red Datsun<\/a> on 24 April 1990. His assassination occurred at a time when Iran\u2019s Islamic regime under Ayatollah Khomeini was not only murdering political opponents in Iranian jails but also killing political opponents abroad. According to the Vaud prosecutor\u2019s investigation, assassinations were notably perpetrated between 1987 and 1993 in Hamburg, Vienna, London, Dubai and Paris, as well as the Geneva area, where Rajavi was gunned down in broad daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kazem-Rajavi_Datsun-article_v2.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;Les tueurs \u00e0 la casquette bleue venaient d'Iran&quot; (headline of a newspaper) + picture of car with bullet impacts.\" class=\"wp-image-83747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kazem-Rajavi_Datsun-article_v2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kazem-Rajavi_Datsun-article_v2-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kazem-Rajavi_Datsun-article_v2-730x487.jpg 730w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption>\"The killers with blue caps came from Iran\", headlines La Tribune de Gen\u00e8ve in an article of 9 July 2015 devoted to the assassinations of Kazem Rajavi and another Iranian opponent on Swiss territory. Right: photo of the bullet-riddled red Datsun of the Iranian opponent assassinated in Switzerland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After Rajavi\u2019s death, Swiss suspicions focused on Iranian diplomats who had quickly left the country after the assassination. Prosecutors in canton Vaud drew up a list of 13 Iranians suspected of having actively participated in the murder and had them put under international arrest warrants. In 2006, Switzerland also issued an international arrest warrant for former Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian on suspicion of having ordered the assassination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two of the hitmen were later arrested by French police. But despite a Swiss warrant, the French government put them on a direct flight to Tehran \u201cfor reasons of state\u201d. This drew international condemnation, including from the United States. But the international arrest warrants have now been lifted, and the Iranian authorities have always denied any involvement in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given all this, chances of a trial in this case seem low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A test for new swiss Attorney General? \u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNever say never,\u201d replies Grant. Although prosecutions for Iranian political assassinations are rare, he points to the fact that in August a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/81098-iran-first-trial-1988-massacres-stockholm.html\">Swedish court started trying a former Iranian official<\/a> for mass executions of prisoners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even more recently, an Iranian opposition group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/83188-iranian-exiles-file-rights-abuse-claim-in-uk-against-raisi.html\">filed a complaint with Scottish police<\/a> for human rights abuses and genocide allegedly committed by Iran\u2019s current president, Ebrahim Raisi. Hossein Abedini, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) coalition of opposition parties, said at a press conference that Raisi had to be held accountable for taking part in the 1988 massacre of some 30,000 political prisoners. The NCRI called for Raisi to be arrested if he travels to Glasgow to attend the UN climate change summit from October 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Swiss case is now in the hands of the Swiss Office of the Attorney General, which is under-resourced on international crimes cases and has been notoriously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/40328-international-crimes-spotlight-on-switzerland-s-war-crimes-unit.html\">reluctant and slow<\/a> to take them in the past. Both Mettraux and Grant think this will be a test for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/new-swiss-attorney-general-faces-huge-re-organisation-task\/46952840\">new Attorney General Stefan Bl\u00e4ttler<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"content-encadre\">\n<p><strong>WHO WAS KAZEM RAJAVI?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kazem&nbsp;Rajavi, post-Revolution Iran\u2019s first ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, was gunned down&nbsp;on April 24, 1990, as he was driving to his home in&nbsp;Coppet, a small town in canton Vaud near Geneva.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rajavi&nbsp;had become strongly critical of the Khomeini regime, resigned his diplomatic post after just one year and was&nbsp;the representative in Switzerland of the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).<\/p>\n<p>He campaigned, including at the UN, for human rights and democracy in Iran. Kazem was the brother of&nbsp;Massoud&nbsp;Rajavi, the leader of the People\u2019s Mujahedin, the main armed opposition group to the Islamic regime in Iran.\u202f<\/p>\n<p>The renowned human rights advocate had been granted political asylum in Switzerland in 1981.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/politics\/should-swiss-close-case-of-murdered-iranian-diplomat--\/45846454\">swissinfo.ch<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"articleLink articleLink--editorRecommanded articleLink--textInImage articleLink--textTop\" style=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"articleLinkSurTitle\">Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<a class=\"articleLinkImageLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/81098-iran-first-trial-1988-massacres-stockholm.html\"><div class=\"articleLinkImageContainer \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Iran-Sweden_1988-massacre-Washington-photo-exhibit_@Saul-Loeb-AFP-540x360.jpg\" class=\"articleLinkImage backgroundImageTag w-100 wp-post-image\" alt=\"Activist in front of thousands of photos of victims of the 1988 massacres in Iran\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Iran-Sweden_1988-massacre-Washington-photo-exhibit_@Saul-Loeb-AFP-540x360.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Iran-Sweden_1988-massacre-Washington-photo-exhibit_@Saul-Loeb-AFP-730x487.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Iran-Sweden_1988-massacre-Washington-photo-exhibit_@Saul-Loeb-AFP-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Iran-Sweden_1988-massacre-Washington-photo-exhibit_@Saul-Loeb-AFP.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/81098-iran-first-trial-1988-massacres-stockholm.html\" class=\"articleLinkTitle articleLinkTitle--default\">\r\n\t\t\tIran: first trial for 1988 massacres opens in Stockholm\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The cold case of an Iranian dissident assassinated in Switzerland 30 years ago was ordered reopened on September 27 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court, on suspicions of \u201cgenocide or crimes against humanity\u201d. Why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":83709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[2653,2635],"ji_location":[2277,2497],"class_list":["post-83702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-tribunals","tag-crime-against-humanity","tag-genocide-2","ji_location-iran","ji_location-switzerland"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3.1 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Switzerland is relaunching an Iranian cold case for &quot;genocide&quot; - JusticeInfo.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The cold case of an Iranian dissident assassinated in Switzerland 30 years ago was ordered reopened on September 27 by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court, on suspicions of \u201cgenocide or crimes against humanity\u201d. 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