LONDON: The Iranian regime is systematically covering up a series of massacres as it “shamefully” celebrates the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Republic, Amnesty International said on Monday.

A report by the organization details how key officials involved in the cover-up of prison massacres in 1988 did not face punishment for their role in disinformation campaigns, with Amnesty warning that Iran’s current regime “employs similar strategies to weaken international responses to crimes.”

The regime aims to “extinguish any form of political opposition” by “denying massacres, spreading misinformation and opposing international investigations” into “horror after horror,” added Amnesty, which has long campaigned for those involved in the cover-up of the massacres to be brought to justice.

In its report, it lists officials involved in the cover-up, singling out former representative to the UN Mohammad Jafar Mahallati for his role in undermining the international response to the massacres.

“In November 1988, he denied reports of mass executions at a meeting with the UN rapporteur and falsely claimed that ‘many killings had in fact occurred on the battlefield’,” Amnesty said.

Mahallati also used his influence within the UN to “water down” resolutions condemning the Iranian regime over the massacre, “pushing for a softer text that would merely welcome Tehran’s decision to cooperate with the UN Human Rights Commission,” Amnesty added.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:  “For decades, Iran’s government and its diplomatic representatives around the world have orchestrated denial and misinformation campaigns to mislead the international community and rob those affected and society at large of the right to truth.

“It is high time for Iranian diplomats to reveal the nature and source of instructions they received from the capital, and stop contributing to the shroud of secrecy surrounding the 1988 prison massacres, which has only entrenched impunity and compounded the suffering of survivors and relatives.”

Amnesty’s report drew parallels between the cover-up and the regime’s strategy toward the nationwide protests that broke out in September last year, with officials “resorting to similar tactics to discredit a new generation of protesters.”

Amnesty said: “Iranian officials in Geneva distributed lengthy briefings (in the wake of protester deaths), which blamed the killings of protesters on ‘hired terrorists,’ ‘suicides’ or ‘accidents’ or questioned the death of some victims.”

Eltahawy said Iranian authorities “have maintained an iron grip on power for decades through the commission of horror after horror with absolute impunity.

“They continue to systematically conceal the fate and whereabouts of thousands of political dissidents they extrajudicially killed in the 1980s and dumped in unmarked graves.

“They hide or destroy mass gravesites, and harass and intimidate survivors and relatives seeking truth, justice and reparation.

“Such crimes are not relics of the past. The 44th anniversary arrives amid a horrific wave of bloodshed around the latest protests, as well as arbitrary executions and death sentences targeting protesters.

“This highlights the need for urgent global action from countries around the world to bring Iranian officials involved in crimes under international law to justice in fair trials.”