mr. Hossein Mojtahedi

External PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, Criminology

External PhD Candidate, A-LAB

External PhD Candidate, Research Programmes - Law, Empirical and Normative Studies

Personal information

Hossein Mojtahedi is a lecturer and PhD candidate in the Criminal Law and Criminology department at the Faculty of Law. He holds a Master's in International Crimes, Conflict & Criminology (Cum Laude) from VU Amsterdam, a Master's in Criminal Law and Criminology (Summa Cum Laude), and a Bachelor's in Law (Summa Cum Laude). He is currently working on his PhD project on ‘Transitional Justice and Prevention of Radicalization in Iraq’s post-IS (Islamic State) Landscape’. Combining legal doctrinal analysis and empirical research, his multidisciplinary project strives to formulate viable, context-specific, and locally-driven transitional justice mechanisms capable of harmonizing calls for justice and enduring peace on the one hand, while also effectively preventing or constraining the risk of future radicalization on the other hand. He is a research fellow at the Center for International Criminal Justice (CICJ) and primarily teaches in the MSc programme International Crimes, Conflict & Criminology (ICC) and Law in Society Bachelor’s programme at VU Amsterdam.

Research

Transitional Justice and Prevention of Radicalization in Iraq’s post-IS (Islamic State) Landscape

In December 2017, the Iraqi government declared the defeat of Islamic State (IS) and heralded the 'post-IS landscape' as a new chapter in Iraq's history. Despite significant improvements in security over the years, it's not the first time Iraq has commemorated the anniversary amidst the shadow of radical Islamists. A glance at Iraq's post-2003 invasion history reveals a recurring 'cycle of violence' in this fragile state, marked by sectarian wars, systematic human rights violations, terrorist acts, and widespread international crimes perpetrated by various radicalized groups, including IS.

Given this violent past, there is an evident imperative to develop practical and context-specific transitional justice mechanisms that can simultaneously address the calls for justice and lasting peace while also working to prevent or mitigate the risk of future radicalization. However, formulating and implementing such an integrated framework faces considerable challenges due to deeply entrenched sectarian tensions, tribalism, political exclusion, and a disturbed collective identity in Iraq. This innovative, multidisciplinary project combines legal doctrinal analysis with empirical fieldwork to propose feasible and locally-inspired models for transitional justice and prevention of radicalization in Iraq's post-IS landscape. The goal is to provide practical suggestions for addressing past atrocities, upholding human rights, and promoting a more peaceful and secure future for the nation.

Teaching