The capacity of international law to pursue the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh

Fars News Agency Legal and Judicial Department – It was at this time last year that Martyr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a scientist, deputy defense minister and head of Iran’s New Defense Research Organization, was assassinated. In a note, Kian Biglerbeigi, a researcher at the Institute for Human Rights and Citizenship, examines the legal aspects of this case:

The program of Iranian nuclear scientists has been started for a long time and has led to the martyrdom of Majid Shahriari, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, Massoud Ali Mohammadi, Dariush Rezaei Nejad and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Scientists who sacrificed their lives for economic independence, upgrading our country’s defense and nuclear capabilities.

The right to life is one of the fundamental human rights, and the denial of the right to life is a commanding rule, which has been violated by nuclear scientists. The rule of law in international law, as defined by Article 53 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, is a rule which is inviolable; Therefore, under no circumstances can human life be taken away arbitrarily.

The rule of arbitrary deprivation of life is not limited to the territory of one state, and all states are always obliged to abide by these rules at all times and places. This right is respected and guaranteed, and in case of illegal killing, they have domestic criminal responsibility and, in some cases, international responsibility.

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes the right to life, liberty and security of person, and Article 6 of the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights addresses the prohibition of deprivation of liberty. This right must be protected by law. Deprivation of life or extrajudicial killing is considered a violation of international human rights law and according to this article, the right to life of a person cannot be deprived without a legal order or outside the legal framework.

Therefore, the targeted assassination that took place, for example, in the case of Martyr Fakhrizadeh, is a gross violation of this article. Targeted assassination is legitimate only when it is in the midst of war (or international or non-international armed conflict) and in order to prevent a more serious or serious threat in the future that threatens the life of a nation and within the framework of humanitarian law, observe the principles of necessity, segregation and Fit is possible. Despite the fact that Iran has not been in active international or non-international conflict with any government or insurgent group, the rules of humanitarian law do not apply to the assassination of a nuclear scientist, and human rights standards apply to this issue, and human rights standards are life-threatening. And even humanitarian law restricts the permissible targets of an attack. It also violates the right to a fair trial, which is one of the inalienable rights of human rights, without intentional murder, without a fair trial and without a final court ruling.

The criminal acts in the assassination of an official and government official of the Islamic Republic of Iran are a complete and obvious example of targeted murder, state terrorism, organized terrorism and blatant violation of human rights and international law, contrary to the UN Charter and other internationally accepted documents, principles and rules.

Although the international community has not reached a consensus on a definition of terrorism, there are dozens of global and regional conventions and resolutions of international organizations on terrorism, and there is no dispute as to the principle of terrorism.

One of the most important conventions on terrorism is the International Convention against Terrorist Bombing. According to Article 2 of the Convention, anyone attempting to enter, place or detonate explosives in any way in a public place, government building or public transport system station that results in the destruction, injury or death of a person has committed a terrorist act. Based on this, it is clear that the assassination of Iranian scientists is considered a terrorist operation. Iran’s nuclear scientists have used “explosives” that have led to the “killing” of people in “public places” in their terrorist operations, and these organized actions to testify to nuclear scientists violate the rules of the right to life and the right to a fair trial.

Terrorism pursues two goals with whatever action it takes. The first goal is to take the lives of identified human beings and the second and more important goal is to target the security of individuals and the security of society; It means encroaching on the political, psychological and economic security of a country. As we know, “science” is power, and if a nation is equipped with science and knowledge, it will prosper. Manpower is the main factor of any country for development and progress, and Iran strives to be able to rely on its native forces and nuclear scientists; Because dependence on other countries’ manpower in the field of nuclear energy can be destructive and dangerous.

The assassination of Shahid Fakhrizadeh is definitely an act of violence by individuals, organized organizations or government agencies to achieve political goals, of which direct victimization is not the main goal. In fact, due to the high position and role of this martyr in Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, the purpose of his assassination is not only to strike at the progress of the nuclear program, but also to create a state of fear and despair in the Iranian government and people on the path to economic self-sufficiency. It is a science related to Article 15 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Attempts to prevent Iran from using peaceful nuclear energy and deliberately assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists violate the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop and determine its economic destiny.

Regarding the international responsibility for the assassination of Shahid Fakhrizadeh, it should be said that if the assassination of Shahid Fakhrizadeh is attributed to an independent and formal government, that government will have international responsibility towards Iran, otherwise, due to non-recognition of international legal responsibility of non-governmental organizations and actors. Attribution of this act to the Zionist regime, of which Iran has not accepted the existence of a state – the plan of individual criminal responsibility and also, assuming that this assassination is a crime against humanity, the international criminal responsibility of the perpetrators and leaders of this act can be proposed.

From a legal point of view, due to the non-acceptance of jurisdiction of international courts such as the International Court of Justice, it is only possible to refer the matter to the Security Council and the General Assembly and try to condemn such actions in human rights oversight bodies such as the Human Rights Council. Initiation of civil lawsuits in accordance with the law (such as the Law on the Jurisdiction of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to hear civil lawsuits against foreign governments) and appropriate criminal prosecution (according to the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, including Article 290 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) against perpetrators Iran is also possible.

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