We cried out about the killings; but where is the case file? S. Rouzbeh ۲۰۲۶/۰۶/۲۳ The author asks why images, testimonies and evidence of killings and repression have not yet been brought together in an accessible legal case file, and reviews past efforts to document abuses. In recent days, I have been searching social media, following the news on television and in the media, and seeing many Iranians share photographs of those who have been killed, the tears of their families, the accounts of grieving mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, and some of the footage and images of the crackdown. This is necessary. The victims’ names must not be lost. Their faces must not be forgotten. But amid all this grief and anger, there is a great void: for ordinary people, there is no clearly accessible single, credible, up-to-date, searchable legal source where names, videos, photographs, testimonies and documents can be found in an organised way. Every photograph is on a different page. Every video is on a different channel. Every name is under a different hashtag. Every account is in some corner of cyberspace. But where is the case file? Is seeking justice merely a matter of holding up photographs of those who have been killed at demonstrations? Is showing the victims’ faces, reading out their names and shouting against the Islamic Republic enough? If, from Aban 1398 through the 1401 uprising and on to the reports published about the bloody crackdown of Dey 1404, there are scattered images, videos, accounts, testimonies and documents, why must we still ask: where is the legal case file for these crimes? Who is responsible for bringing the complaint? The bereaved families? Lawyers? The media? Human rights organisations? Political forces? Justice-seeking committees? Or all of them, each in its own sphere, but still not sufficiently coordinated, accessible or accountable? These questions are no longer theoretical. In the face of a government that has repeatedly demonstrated its established pattern—protest, internet shutdown, news blackout, shooting, arrests, threats to families, concealment, distortion of the account and then erasure from memory—seeking justice cannot remain merely emotional or confined to commemorative occasions. Demonstrations are necessary, but not enough Demonstrations are necessary. Photographs of those who have been killed must be held aloft. The victims’ names must be spoken. But unless all this is turned into a legal case file, it remains at the level of memory and protest. Killers are not afraid of photographs. They are afraid of evidence. They are afraid of names, chains of command, witnesses, medical certificates, original footage, dates, locations and criminal case files. Every photograph of someone who has been killed, if held aloft in the street alone, keeps their memory alive; but if accompanied by a name, date, location, witness, medical document, original footage, signs identifying the perpetrators and a route for bringing a complaint, it becomes part of a case for justice. Where are the case files on the missing and the executions? The problem is that national grief has not yet been turned sufficiently into a national case file. What has been done? In past years, steps have been taken that we should acknowledge and learn from. The People’s Tribunal for Aban was held in London. After hearing testimonies and examining documents, it concluded that officials and forces of the Islamic Republic had committed crimes against humanity in suppressing the Aban 1398 protests. The tribunal was able to document some of the truth and show that Aban was not merely a series of scattered protests, but was met with organised repression, shootings, arrests and government concealment. [1] But this tribunal was not an official state court with executive power. It could not issue arrest warrants or impose criminal penalties. Its value lay in documenting evidence and testimony and building a legal record, not in directly delivering justice. During the 1401 uprising, the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran was established. In its reports, the mission stated that many human rights violations by the Islamic Republic—including killing, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and sexual violence, persecution and enforced disappearance—could be examined within the framework of crimes against humanity. These reports have taken the crimes beyond the realm of political accounts and placed them on the international record. [2] In Argentina, a criminal complaint was filed against officials of the Islamic Republic for crimes against humanity during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising. The importance of this route lies in the principle of universal jurisdiction: some countries can investigate and prosecute major international crimes even if they were not committed on their territory. [3] The case of Hamid Nouri in Sweden also showed that this route is possible. He was tried and convicted for his role in the 1988 executions. Although he was later released in a political deal, the case itself proved that, when evidence, witnesses, legal follow-up and judicial will are present, agents of the Islamic Republic can also be tried in courts outside Iran. [4] The Transitional Justice Committee: action taken, but practical questions remain Alongside these efforts, the establishment of the “Committee for Drafting Transitional Justice Regulations”, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, should also be taken seriously. On 25 Esfand 1404, Prince Reza Pahlavi announced that an order had been issued to establish this committee, and named Shirin Ebadi, Iraj Mesdaghi, Leila Bahmani and Afshin Ellian as its members. According to the published statement, the committee’s mandate is to draft regulations for a court and a truth commission for the transition period. [5] So it cannot be said that no legal action has been taken. The committee has so far taken at least one clear legal step: publishing its first advisory opinion on the cooperation of certain individuals with the Islamic Republic’s repressive structures and the confiscation of protesters’ or their families’ property. The opinion examines conduct such as informing on protesters, taking part in checkpoints, using children and adolescents in repression, and purchasing and transferring confiscated property, within the framework of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. [6] This is an important step, because it brings the pursuit of justice closer to legal formulation, beyond the level of slogans. But practical questions remain: has the committee published public guidance for families and witnesses? Has a secure channel been established for recording testimonies and submitting videos, photographs, medical records, certificates and information about those who ordered and carried out the crimes? Do Iranians inside and outside the country know how to record any evidence they have, where to submit it and to what standard, so that it can be used legally in the future? The Transitional Justice Committee needs the support and cooperation of all the people and the opposition, and calls on all communities around the world to help. If such a mechanism exists, it must be publicised far more widely, simply and clearly. If it does not yet exist, those seeking justice naturally expect the Transitional Justice Committee or any responsible legal body to publish practical, secure and accessible guidance as soon as possible, because tomorrow’s court cannot be built without today’s evidence. The pursuit of justice is not only about drafting future regulations. It begins today: the moment evidence is properly recorded and a victim’s testimony is rescued from oblivion. Dey 1404: a warning to record evidence immediately Human rights reports have also described the bloody suppression of protests in Dey 1404, particularly after 8 January 2026, corresponding to 18 Dey 1404. The reports refer to the use of lethal weapons, widespread communication shutdowns or disruption, pressure on families, and the difficulty of accessing independent figures and evidence. Above all, this period still requires verification, the secure recording of testimonies and the consolidation of scattered data into a coherent legal case. [7] If evidence from these days is not recorded securely, to a consistent standard and in a verifiable form from the outset, the government will once again try to bury the truth in the darkness of internet shutdowns, threats against families and official narratives. What are the real obstacles? Some obstacles are structural. The Islamic Republic is not a full member of the International Criminal Court; it has signed but not ratified the Rome Statute. [8] Referral of a case by the Security Council is entangled with global politics, states’ interests and the veto. Fact-finding bodies are not allowed free access to the country. Families and witnesses are under pressure and threat. Internet shutdowns and the destruction of evidence make it harder to record the truth. But another obstacle lies with us, and this one can be overcome: fragmentation and the absence of clearly assigned responsibility. We have cried out a great deal, but built few case files. Social media keeps the memory alive, but it cannot replace a legal archive, an evidence bank, a secure testimony system or a criminal case file. Responsibility without a name leaves the pursuit of justice without an owner When we speak of a network of lawyers, legal experts, journalists, organisations and political forces, there is a danger that responsibility will be divided among everyone and, in practice, no one will be held accountable. The real question is this: which Iranian organisation or political group today has an independent legal team, with sufficient funding, expertise and focus, working solely and exclusively on building cases? The establishment of the Committee for Drafting Transitional Justice Regulations, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, is an important step towards building legal institutions. But the question remains: how far can this committee move beyond drafting regulations and offering advisory opinions to establish practical links with families, securely collect documents, coordinate with international lawyers and prepare case files that can be presented before courts with universal jurisdiction? The Iranian opposition, too, must hear this: if it only gives speeches and takes no concrete steps to build legal cases, it has shirked part of its historic duty. Having a legal office, a fact-checking task force, a secure system for recording testimonies, a legal translation team and active links with international organisations is no longer a ceremonial undertaking. It is part of serious and responsible politics. What must be done from now on? Every demonstration must be more than a place to cry out. It must also be a place to learn about seeking justice: a place to explain how to file a complaint, connect families with legal teams, securely record testimonies and teach people how to preserve evidence. Beside every photograph of a beloved life taken from us, there should be a case file: name, age, city, date, location, type of injury, witness, medical document, original video, identifying details of those responsible, the vehicles’ make, type and registration numbers, the names of commanders, and the route for filing a complaint. Legal committees, human rights organisations, the media and political groups must publish a simple public guide: What should families do? What should witnesses do? How should videos be preserved? Where should the original copy be kept? How should testimony be recorded? How can security risks be reduced? In which countries and through what channels can complaints be filed? And what information is needed to turn an account into a legal case file? We need a national archive for seeking justice—not just for remembrance, but for follow-up. Not just for mourning, but for legal prosecution. Not just for today, but for the court that must be able to deliver a verdict tomorrow on the basis of evidence. Seeking justice means turning mothers’ tears into evidence. Seeking justice means turning scattered videos into case files. Seeking justice means bringing the street’s outcry into the language of the courtroom. The killings in Iran must not remain only in the wounded memory of the nation. They must be recorded in international case files, before prosecutors and truth-seeking bodies, in future commissions and in courts with universal jurisdiction. For a nation that turns its dead into case files will not allow the killers to hide in the darkness of history. Footnotes and sources [1] For information on the verdict and report of the Aban Tribunal, see: The Aban Tribunal and the report by 9BR Chambers. [2] For information on the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, see: the official OHCHR page and the report in the United Nations Digital Library. [3] For information on the criminal complaint in Argentina based on universal jurisdiction, see: the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and the Atlantic Council. [4] For information on Hamid Nouri’s conviction and subsequent release in Sweden, see: Reuters and Amnesty International. [5] For information on the establishment of the ‘Committee for Drafting Transitional Justice Regulations’, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, see: the official message from Prince Reza Pahlavi and the Iran International report. [6] For the Transitional Justice Committee’s advisory opinion, see: The Transitional Justice Committee’s Advisory Opinion and Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s message on the responsibility of those who collaborate with the repression. [7] For human rights reports on the repression of Dey 1404 and January 2026, see: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and OHCHR. [8] For Iran’s status in relation to the Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court, see: Parliamentarians for Global Action and the ICC Assembly of States Parties. Source: https://srouzbeh.com/en/posts/archive-8ab8cf16-6708-66bc-b6fe-24ac1f6c4a64 Please credit the author and link to this edition.