SAEDNEWS: Kazem Gharibabadi said U.S. attacks at sea without trial or transparency are extrajudicial killings and show the “mask of human rights” falling from those who claim to defend it.
According to Saednews, Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on his X account on Monday that in recent months the United States military has conducted lethal strikes against dozens of vessels suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. According to reports, these operations have resulted in nearly 200 deaths, while key details such as evidence, victim identities, arrest procedures, and the possibility of fair trials remain undisclosed.
He noted that even an internal review within the Pentagon has reportedly been pushed to examine how these strikes were carried out. However, he argued that the deeper issue goes beyond operational procedures, asking whether a state can, outside of a battlefield, convert mere “suspicion” into a death sentence.
Gharibabadi emphasized that combating drug trafficking has a lawful framework involving investigation, arrest, evidence collection, trial, and due process. He stated that targeting individuals at sea without trial or transparency constitutes extrajudicial killing, undermining human rights claims made by those responsible.
He further referenced Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to life, and said that Washington must explain how it has replaced judicial proceedings with military force, and legal accountability with killings without trial.
