STA, 11 July 2021 - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša endorsed an inquiry into a 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran as he delivered a video address to the annual Free Iran World Summit, a global event organised by the Iranian diaspora.
"For nearly 33 years the world had forgotten about the victims of the massacre. This should change," he said in a video address he posted on Twitter on Sunday.
Janša expressed his support for a UN-led commission of inquiry into the massacre, after the UN investigator on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, recently called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners.
A courageous address by PM Janez Janša of Slovenia @JJansaSDS & president of Council of EU: Iranian regime must be held accountable for #HumanRights violations and int'l community must be firm about 1988 Massacre, forgotten for 33 yrs. #FreeIran2021 https://t.co/oK5uCOi8sX
— Alireza Jafarzadeh (@A_Jafarzadeh) July 11, 2021
PM Janša appears around 1 hours 54 minutes
Janša said such an inquiry commission was "of crucial importance to shed light on the horrible 1988 massacre" and would help the families of victims to finally achieve closure and justice.
"This is especially important in light of the fact that the regime's next president will be Ebrahim Raisi, who is accused by Amnesty International of crimes against humanity for his role in the massacre," he said.
"I will personally continue being engaged on all these issues of concern. You can always count on my understanding and support," he said.
According to Janša, the Iranian people deserve democracy, freedom and human rights "and should be firmly supported by the international community".
"The Iranian regime must be held accountable for human rights violations and the international community must be firmer on this."
