Leila Vaseghi
- Head of Foreign Investment Department in Provincial Government, Khuzestan Province (Unknown)
- Coordinator Director of Provincial Government, Mazandaran Province (Unknown)
- Governor , Quds (Jun 2019 - present)
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Nov 2019) read more
- Institution
- Ministry of Interior
- Location
- Shahr-e Qods (Tehran Province)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom of assembly, Right to life
- Description
As the Governor of Shahr-e Qods, and head of the city security Council, she is responsible for issuing the shooting order to the police and other armed forces to use lethal and non-lethal weapons during the November 2019 protests, causing dozens of unarmed protesters’ and other civilians’ deaths or injuries.
The nationwide protests of 2019, known as the protests of November 2019, were a series of large-scale popular demonstrations against the Iranian government, which began on November 15, 2019 in protest of the tripling of gasoline prices and quickly turned into anti-government protests that spread to 29 provinces in more than 100 cities across the country. The protests were brutally suppressed by the security and military forces. According to Amnesty International, at least 304 people were killed in the protests.
- Sources
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Shoot to Kill:Preliminary Findings of Justice For Iran’s Investigation into the November 2019 Protests, February 2020, p 13 https://justice4iran.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SHOOT-TO-KILL-Preliminary-Findings-of-Justice-for-Irans-Investigation-into-the-November-2019-Protests.pdf
Governor Admits Ordering Police To Shoot At Iran Protesters, Radio Farda, December 2019 https://en.radiofarda.com/a/governor-admits-ordering-police-to-shoot-at-iran-protesters/30302762.html
“Iran: Details released of 304 deaths during protests six months after security forces’ killing spree”, Amnesty International, 20 May 2020
List of confirmed and unconfirmed names of victims and detainees of the November protests, Iranwire, 2019 https://iranwire.com/fa/features/34397
"4 Days of Suppression in Iran: What Do We Know About the Protest Victims?", IranWire, November 2019 https://iranwire.com/fa/features/34262
- Legal Developments
- On 12 April 2021, the Council of the European Union added 8 Iranian officials including Leila Vaseghi, to its list of human rights sanctions for their role in widespread and grave violations of the rights of Iranian citizens. According to the EU statement, “As the governor of Shahr-e Qods and Head of the City Security Council since September 2019, Leyla Vaseghi ordered the police and other armed forces to use lethal means during the November 2019 protests, causing the deaths of and injuries to unarmed protesters and other civilians.” As a result of these sanctions, Vaseghi has been banned from entering the EU and his assets in the EU have been frozen.
- Human Rights Violation: Killing and suppressing protesters (Nov 2019) read more