NYSBA Announces Webinar on Human Rights Violations on the Six-Month Anniversary of Masha Jina Amini’s Death
3.16.2023
On the six-month anniversary of the tragic death of Masha Jina Amini in the custody of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the New York State Bar Association is announcing that it will hold a two-part webinar exploring international laws that hold perpetrators accountable for human rights violations.
Amini, 22, was visiting her family from a predominantly Kurdish town in Western Iran when she was detained by the “morality police” for having supposedly covered her hair too loosely with her head scarf. When news of her death in police custody spread on social media, protesters took to the streets of Iran and U.S. and European cities, resulting in a crackdown on peaceful protesters by the Islamic Republic. Four protesters have been executed and 41 others have been sentenced to death, CNN reported.
Part 1 of the webinar – presented by the association’s International Section — will take place from 11 a.m. to noon on April 13. It is free but participants must register.
In Part 1 of the webinar, panelists will examine the MASHA Act, which has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The act establishes procedures for property and visa-blocking sanctions on certain individuals and companies affiliated with Iran. In addition, panelists will address civil litigation and legal processes for freezing assets to compensate victims, including opportunities to strengthen laws. Panelists will also discuss the investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council into human rights violations in Iran and the removal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women.
Part 2 will take place this fall but a date has not been set. It will focus on universal jurisdiction and the implications of the Hamid Nouri trial in Sweden. A Swedish court found Nouri, an Iranian official who is a key figure in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners, guilty. The case is on appeal.
