The broadcast of the documentary “The Trial of History” by Iran International has prompted different reactions regarding the concept of “transitional justice” and how to punish those who ordered and carried out killings and crimes in the Islamic Republic.

At the center of these reactions is disagreement over whether to execute officials of the Islamic Republic or to completely abolish the death penalty after the fall of the government.

A group of viewers considers execution and qisas (retribution in kind) to be necessary punishments for the wide-ranging crimes committed by officials of the Iranian government.

In contrast, some others believe that continuing the cycle of executions would pull the future government into repeating the methods of the Islamic Republic, and they propose assigning those responsible to forced work to help rebuild Iran.

Some also warned that if future punishments proportionate to the crimes of individuals such as Gholamhosein Mohseni Eje’i and Abolghasem Salavati are not determined, the families of those seeking justice may take action to punish them; a situation that could plunge the country into chaos.

The documentary “The Trial of History,” made by Jamshid Barzegar, a journalist and political analyst, was recently aired on Iran International.

Read the full text on the Iran International website.