The complaint, filed by an Iranian-Swiss citizen, said Gharibabadi "may have committed serious crimes contrary to international law" linked to protests over the death in custody of a woman, Mahsa Amini, the lawyers told AFP, demanding the arrest of the deputy minister who has been in Geneva this week.

It suggested he could be "a co-perpetrator or, at the very least, that his responsibility could be engaged due to his position as a hierarchical superior at the time of the events".

"We expect the Swiss authorities to arrest the accused as soon as possible," said the lawyers William Bourdon and Philippine Vaganay, both French nationals.

"There is no other option."

The complaint was filed under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute alleged crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide regardless of where they were committed.

Gharibabadi has this week been in Geneva, where he on Monday addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament.

It was unclear if he remained on Thursday in the Swiss city, where Iran was taking part in high-stakes indirect nuclear talks with the United States.

The complaint is linked to Iran's brutal crackdown on protests that erupted in the country after the 2022 death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.

It charged that Gharibabadi "could be held responsible" for having "participated in and covered up acts of murder, physical and sexual violence, arbitrary detention, inhuman or degrading treatment and violations of fundamental rights" during the crackdown.

The complaint highlighted that Gharibabadi at the time was a high-ranking official in Iran's judiciary, with command over those "who implemented the deadly policy, which led to arbitrary detention, violence, acts of torture and murder", as well as "execution of civilians".

Swiss judicial authorities confirmed to AFP that the office of the country's attorney general had received the complaint, which was "currently being reviewed according to standard procedure".

"The filing of a criminal complaint does not necessarily mean that criminal proceedings have been initiated," they said in an email.