U.N. experts call for independent investigation of the 1988 massacre in Iran

A recently released report by senior United Nations experts accuses Iran of withholding information about a 1988 massacre in which as many as 30,000 political prisoners could have been executed.

The report states U.N. officials "are seriously concerned by the alleged continued refusal to disclose the fate and whereabouts of thousands of individuals who were reportedly forcibly disappeared and then extrajudicially executed in 1988."

The seven experts are also calling on the international community to start an investigation if the Iranian regime continues to refuse to "uphold its obligations under international human rights law."

Ken Blackwell, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission wrote in a recent op-ed, "Not only should the United Nations act to prevent further human rights catastrophes in Iran, but it should also hold the regime accountable for its past crimes by referring the regime's human rights dossier to the UN Security Council for further deliberation and action."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran is calling for a formal investigation into the massacre, with possible charges against current Iranian officials at the International Criminal Court.