Open Letter to Shirin Ebadi: No Justice with a Selective Memory
This open letter challenges the credibility of any transitional justice process that begins with 1979 while excluding the violations committed under the Pahlavi monarchy. It argues that justice cannot be selective, and calls for full recognition of the Ahwazi victims of killings, executions, aerial bombardment, forced displacement, land confiscation, demographic engineering, cultural repression, and resource exploitation. The letter also examines the relationship between political power, inherited wealth, media influence, and the continued denial of Ahwazi rights, insisting that no process can claim legitimacy without truth, accountability, and recognition of all victims.
ENGLISH
Ms. Shirin Ebadi,
Your acceptance of a role linked to what is described as the “principles of transitional justice,” in cooperation with Reza Pahlavi, raises a fundamental question that cannot be overlooked:
What kind of justice begins in 1979 while ignoring everything that came before it?
What kind of accountability is practiced with such evident selectivity?
Justice, under international law, cannot be fragmented, confined to a single historical period, or used to rehabilitate actors who have never faced genuine accountability.
Where Does Justice Begin?
Any pathway to justice that ignores the Pahlavi era is fundamentally flawed from the outset.
That period, according to multiple historical testimonies and reports, witnessed grave violations, including:
· Extrajudicial killings
· Political executions
· Arbitrary detention and torture
· Aerial bombardment of villages and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of large numbers of civilians, including women and children, following the uprisings in Ahwaz after its occupation and annexation into Iran in 1925
· Forced displacement and demographic engineering, particularly in Ahwaz
· Confiscation of land and resources
· Deprivation of fundamental rights, including cultural, linguistic, and political rights
When such acts are carried out in a widespread or systematic manner against civilian populations, they may amount to crimes against humanity under international law.
Continuity, Not Rupture: Then and Now
The violations committed during the Pahlavi era against the Ahwazi Arab people and other oppressed non-Persian peoples in Iran were not less severe than those witnessed under the current system.
What occurred was not a true rupture, but rather a continuation of governing patterns.
What is taking place cannot be understood as isolated incidents. It reflects sustained and systematic policies of discrimination, continuously implemented, aimed at weakening and erasing the cultural identity of these peoples.
These practices point to a structured political approach based on discrimination, including policies that target the erosion of cultural and linguistic identities. This may be understood within the framework of organized efforts to reshape the demographic and cultural composition at the expense of these communities.
An Unaccounted Legacy: Wealth and Media
Ignoring the Pahlavi era also means overlooking the enduring relationship between power, wealth, and influence.
Following the fall of the Shah’s regime in 1979, the family of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left the country amid widespread allegations of transferring substantial wealth abroad. The sources of these assets remain subject to scrutiny, including revenues derived from natural resources in regions such as Ahwaz.
Multiple reports and observations indicate that parts of these resources—or associated networks of influence—were later used to support media platforms abroad aligned with pro-Pahlavi narratives.
Some of these platforms have been accused of:
· Promoting exclusionary rhetoric toward these peoples
· Denying or downplaying historical violations
· Questioning legitimate political and cultural rights
· Framing rights-based struggles as threats rather than legitimate claims
This intersection of wealth, media, and political discourse cannot be separated from any serious discussion of justice.
Not a Transition… But a Selective Process
Ms. Ebadi,
Transitional justice does not mean condemning one era while ignoring another. It cannot be based on selective recognition of victims or selective accountability.
Any process that does not rest on:
· Full disclosure of the truth
· Recognition of all victims
· Accountability for all those involved in killings, repression, or grave violations
fails to meet the minimum standards of justice recognized under international law, and lacks the essential foundations of justice as defined by international human rights law.
Legal and Moral Responsibility
As an internationally recognized legal figure, your engagement in a process that does not pursue comprehensive accountability raises serious concerns regarding adherence to:
· The principle of accountability and ending impunity
· The right of victims to truth, justice, and reparation
These are established principles that cannot be selectively applied.
A Message to Reza Pahlavi
Any discourse on justice that fails to confront a history marked by:
· Killings and executions
· Bombing of civilians
· Displacement and discrimination
· Systematic deprivation of rights
· Exploitation of resources to sustain exclusionary narratives
lacks credibility.
What took place in Ahwaz—resource exploitation and sustained marginalization—remains an open and unresolved matter in any genuine pursuit of justice.
Conclusion: No Legitimacy Without Accountability
Ms. Shirin Ebadi,
A process that excludes victims of killings, executions, aerial bombardment, and systematic violations—and fails to address patterns of discrimination and exploitation—cannot be considered a genuine process of justice.
We reaffirm our commitment to:
· Documenting all historical violations
· Engaging international human rights mechanisms
· Pursuing comprehensive accountability within relevant legal frameworks
Any process that disregards these realities will remain subject to scrutiny under international legal and human rights standards.
Justice cannot be built on omission—it must be grounded in the full truth.
It cannot be achieved through selectivity—it requires comprehensive accountability.
Hamid Shayea Al-Ahwazi
Writer, Thinker, and Independent Ahwazi Researcher
23 March 2026