Abdolkarim Lahdiji, vice president of the International Federation of Human Rights ‎Leagues, discusses in an interview with Rooz the negative repercussions of the Iranian ‎Majlis Speaker's recent visit to Sudan, following the Sudanese president's indictment for ‎crimes against humanity. In Lahidji's view, the recent verdict issued against the ‎Sudanese president demonstrates that the world is shrinking for criminals with each ‎passing day. Read on for the interview.‎
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Rooz: How do you evaluate Mr. Larijani's recent visit to Khartoum?‎
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Abdolkarim Lahidji (Lahidji): The justification that Mr. Larijani provided for his visit ‎shows that, like other officials in the Islamic Republic, he has no understanding of ‎international norms. The International Criminal Court's bylaws stipulate that one ‎condition for investigating a crime is that the crime must have been committed by an ‎individual whose country has adopted the bylaws of the International Criminal Court. ‎However, another principle in the bylaws states that when the Security Council proves ‎the presence of an international crime, it can ask the International Criminal Court ‎prosecutor to investigate the matter. With respect to Sudan, this process has been ‎completed. Mr. Larijani knows that if this process becomes a trend, then it is possible for ‎certain Islamic Republic officials to be subjected to similar investigations. Therefore, ‎he engaged in this trip to console Mr. al-Bashir and also to address concerns by the ‎country's senior leadership. ‎
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Rooz: Given Mr. Omar al-Bashir's international image, how does Mr. Larijani's presence ‎in Khartoum affect Iran's international image?‎
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Lahidji: The supports coming in for al-Bashir indicate the existence of a club of ‎international criminals, who think that no one should bother them no matter what they ‎do. The excuse brought up by Islamic Republic officials is, why doesn't the International ‎Criminal Court address crimes that took place during America's invasion of Iraq, or at ‎Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib? Or, why doesn't anyone investigate crimes conducted by ‎Israel during its attacks on Palestine in recent months? The point is that, as human rights ‎activists, we have protested and continue to protest those acts. But that does not mean ‎that we regard Mr. al-Bashir or certain Islamic Republic leaders to be innocent. We ‎cannot say that if, in one particular instance, an international court is investigating ‎someone who has committed crimes, that is not correct and that the person must escape ‎justice like other criminals. In the modern world, following the establishment of the ‎International Criminal Court, human rights activists found a ray of hope that the era of ‎getting away with crimes has ended, and that international criminals will one day pay for ‎their actions.‎
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Rooz: It seems like a new development has taken place in international criminal justice ‎as a result of which not just criminals such as Omar al-Bashir and former Chilean dictator ‎Pinochet, but also individuals from other countries, such as America, could face justice. ‎Is this interpretation correct?‎
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Lahidji: Yes. Ever since the International Convention Against Torture was passed in ‎‎1984, it was agreed that if a torturer does not have the nationality of the country where he ‎is residing, but that country is a member of the convention, even if that person is visiting ‎that country as a traveler, the country that is a member of the convention is obliged to ‎arrest, put on trial and punish the torturer. In the past three year, and on the basis of this ‎very principle and convention, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues has ‎issued more than 10 indictments against Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney to European ‎countries, which they intended to visit. Our intention from these indictments is to make ‎the world smaller for criminals with each passing day. In America too, with the coming ‎to power of the Obama Administration - which is reversing many anti-human rights laws ‎passed during the Bush era, including the torture policy that was imposed by the Bush ‎Administration on the judicial system since 2001 - we hope that the federal court would ‎one day investigate these crimes. The American member of the International Federation ‎of Human Rights Leagues, which is headquartered in New York, has filed these ‎indictments with American courts. ‎