Iranian opposition members want to take President Ebrahim Raisi to court in New York. The UN is also concerned about this.
Iranian President Raisi plans to travel to the UN General Assembly in New York in mid-September. The trip can also be seen as a signal of rapprochement between Tehran and Washington. Iranian opposition figures recently filed a lawsuit against Raisi in a New York court for his role as a judge in the 1988 massacre of Iranian dissidents. So does the Iranian president risk arrest if he sets foot on American soil?
Rather not, believe Teresa Eder, foreign policy program director at the Böll Foundation in Washington. “The lawsuit was brought by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the diplomatic arm of the People’s Mujahideen. This organization was on the US terror list until 2012 and openly pursues – including the violent – overthrow of the Iranian regime.”
Would harm UN multilateralism
In addition to a legal decision, it would logically also be a difficult political decision to arrest the Iranian president. Also for the UN: “Such a precedent would seriously harm the functioning of the UN and multilateralism, as it questions diplomatic immunity,” Eder told the Krone. “Several autocratic countries would then participate even less at the multilateral level.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
