In a letter to President Biden, two members of US Congress urged him to lead an international investigation into Ebrahim Raisi’s involvement in crimes against humanity in Iran.
Congressman Tom McClintock tweeted, “Letter urging President Biden to lead an international investigation into Ebrahim Raisi’s involvement in crimes against humanity in Iran. H. Res. 118 emphasizes the House majority stands with the Iranian people and their struggle for a free Iran.”
Congressman Steve Cohen tweeted, “Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi participated in the 1988 massacre of political opponents, journalists and anyone who dared oppose him. I am proud to cosponsor H.Res.118 calling for an international investigation into his crimes. The Iranian people deserve better!”
The full text of the letter:
July 12, 2021
President Joseph R. Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
We write to inform you of our concerns regarding Ebrahim Raisi’s atrocious human rights record and ask that you lead an international investigation concerning his involvement in crimes against humanity. Ahead of the recent election for Iran’s new president, many Iranians protested the questionable election in the form of boycott. As a result, official voter turnout in the June 18, 2021 election was only 48.8%, the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic of Iran since its founding in 1979. Despite this clear expression of disapproval by the Iranian people; the clerical regime selected Ebrahim Raisi as its next president.
President Ebrahim Raisi is a notorious henchman who has committed egregious human rights violations against political oppositionists, journalists, and anyone else who dares to oppose him. Raisi served on the country’s judiciary, a key actor of repression in Iran, for over three decades. According to Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch, well-established documents, and multiple UN human rights officials, Raisi was part of the four-member commission responsible for the 1988 massacre where as many as 30,000 political prisoners died, most of whom were associated with the Iranian opposition movement, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK/PMOI). AI has stated, “That Ebrahim Raisi’s rise to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran.”
In the 117th Congress, Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus (IHRDC) members, along with more than 240 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives, co-sponsored H. Res. 118, which reiterates the United Nations’ call for the international community to take action and urges the United States to be involved in the establishment of an international investigation into the 1988 extrajudicial killings of Iranian dissidents. This resolution emphasizes that this overwhelming House majority stands with the Iranian people and their struggle to establish a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear Republic of Iran.
We thank you for your consideration and look forward to working with your Administration to bring Ebrahim Raisi to justice before international tribunals.
Sincerely,
Steve Cohen
Member of Congress
Tom McClintock
Member of Congress
The original letter:
IHRDC-Letter-to-POTUS-about-Raisi-1
