The KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL is a court that was organized based on discussions in different meetings for the clarification and exposure of the culture of injustice and crimes committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Kurds in Rojhelat. This was done with the necessary and specific competences for this purpose. After the court hearings, testimonies and related documents, the KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL will follow up the matter with the international judiciary to officially determine the responsibility of the Iranian government.
The Tribunal’s goal is to compile an archive documenting these crimes, which will also be available internationally for research purposes in the future. The Tribunal focuses on the following three issues: Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes.
Furthermore, the documents collected will serve as evidence to hold accountable those who were and are responsible for these crimes. Through this, further crimes against the Kurdish minority should be prevented.
The Initial Situation
The Islamic Republic of Iran, since its establishment 41 years ago as the Shiite Islamic Republic of the „Velayat-e-Faqih,“ also known as the „Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist,“ has brought great misfortune to the Iranian people by exporting and spreading the Islamic Revolution. It has not only carried out collective massacres, executions, and terrorism, but also violated the fundamental rights to freedom and lavishly squandered the country’s resources.
On the international level, the Islamic Republic pursues the policy of expanding and exporting the Islamic Revolution and has not stopped its interference in the affairs of Islamic countries, especially those in the Middle East, which has become a greater threat to world peace and security.
The regime is pursuing the project of „one language, one nation and one flag“ in Eastern Kurdistan. Claiming to protect the territorial integrity of the country, it systematically violates all principles of human rights and legitimizes itself to commit all kinds of crimes against the Kurdish people in Eastern Kurdistan.
Immediately after the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khomeini declared the fatwa of jihad against the Kurdish people on August 18, 1979. This fatwa became the starting point for attacks on the towns and villages of Eastern Kurdistan, which have resulted in mass killings of villagers and executions and assassinations of many Kurds to this day.
As a result of these repressive policies, thousands of people have been killed by agents and military personnel loyal to the regime. In the first three years of the regime in power in Iran alone, more than 313 villagers, most of whom were women, children, the elderly, and defenseless civilians, were mercilessly murdered and 38 villages were destroyed.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has executed over 2504 young Kurds since its inception for claiming their Kurdish identity. More than 449 people have been murdered inside and outside Iran, a significant number of whom were under the age of 18 at the time of execution or murder.
Despite the multidimensional repression in Kurdistan, economically, culturally and socially, young civilian Kurdish men are murdered every day carrying out the activities of the „Kolbarî“ on the borders of Eastern Kurdistan. In 2019 alone, more than 70 Kurdish „Kolbarî“ were directly shot by soldiers loyal to the regime.
Since its establishment, the regime in Iran has been systematically working to assimilate the identity of the Kurdish people in Eastern Kurdistan. In order to legally combat this assimilationist policy, we have found it historically legitimate to create a legal Center, the Kurdistan Tribunal.
Foundation
The Kurdistan Tribunal was founded by volunteers and human rights activists and started its work in August 2020. The platform intends to expand in terms of personnel, with the expansion of its activities.
Organizationally, it works closely with the following institutions:
- „World Kurdish Organization e.V.“
- „Kurdish Community e.V.“
The above mentioned institutions have been engaged in scientific documentation work regarding Kurdish history for many years. In addition, the organizations support Kurds worldwide in bringing their concerns in the areas of politics, media and society closer to the public.
The co-founders consist mainly of victims and their families, lawyers as well as human rights activists.
Target group
The objective of the Tribunal is to document human rights violations and repression with a focus on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Eastern Kurdistan.
The documentation will be used for the following purposes:
1. archive for research work
2. evidence for submission to a People’s Tribunal as a court of law, and
3. cooperation with international justice,
to hold accountable those who were and are responsible for human rights violations and crimes. In addition, the collection of evidence is intended to preventively discourage further human rights violations and crimes.
The working method is divided into the following steps:
Phase 1
Establishment of a YouTube channel and a website
Publication of the founding message of KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL in Kurdish (Sorani, Kurmanji), Farsi and English languages
Interviews in Kurdish and Persian TV as well as in social media
Publication and broadcasting of short films showing well-known personalities in connection with KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL. These short films are intended to encourage concerned individuals to contact KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL to claim their rights.
The collection and archiving of documents related to the human rights violation and crimes of the Islamic Republic in Eastern Kurdistan.
Interviewing victims and eyewitnesses of the crimes.
Publishing the interviews on social media with the consent of the victims in order to reduce the inhibition of other victims to talk about these crimes.
Phase 2 – Categorization of documents and interviews.
In this phase, the evidence and documents are categorized. The experts assign the crimes to one of the three categories mentioned above, namely „genocide“, „crimes against humanity“ and „war crimes“.
The interviews are translated into English and the films are given subtitles in English.
Each piece of evidence and each interview will be evaluated by jurors and legal experts according to international law.
Phase 3
Victims‘ lawyers will send the evidence to selected international judges to file charges.
A court, to be determined at that time, will review the evidence and documents collected and, if necessary, interview victims and eyewitnesses to determine the veracity of the evidence and witnesses.
The court will finally pronounce its sentence and announce it to the public.
Phase 4
The collected documents and interviews will be handed over to a documentation center, which will be responsible for preserving and expanding the documentation. This is to ensure the sustainability of the work.
The KURDISTAN TRIBUNAL, as the originator of all these documents and interviews, will work hard to pass on all the material to a trustworthy institution.