USADI Dispatch

A publication of the U.S. Alliance for Democratic Iran


Volume IV, No. 13                                                                                                                                         September 14, 2007


Commentary by U.S. Alliance for Democratic Iran

 

Ayatollahs and the 1988 Iran Massacre

 

Nearly two decades ago this summer, Iran’s fundamentalist regime was in the midst of mass killing of political prisoners. In what is now known as “The 1988 Iran massacre,” thousands of prisoners were summarily executed in a span of three to six months, beginning in mid-summer 1988. Many international law experts believe that this heinous atrocity qualifies the current Iranian leadership as a perpetrator of crimes against humanity.

In 1981, the regime of ayatollahs embarked on systematic persecution of political dissidents. Tens of thousands of Iranian men and women were imprisoned or executed; members and sympathizers of the People’s Mujahedeen (MEK) comprised the vast majority. Still , the number of political prisoners was growing rapidly; daily executions and torture dungeons had failed to break the spirit of resistance inside and outside prisons.

In the mid-1980s, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights was pressing Iran to open its prisons to international scrutiny. The mullahs had a major problem on their hand: the prisons were filled with tens of thousands of political prisoners whom the regime had no intention of releasing. They were the living testament to the clerics’ barbarism. The murderous patriarch Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious decree in summer of 1988 which ordered:

"Those who are in prisons throughout the country and remain committed to their support for the [Mujahedeen], are waging war on God and are condemned to execution.AAAA Destroy the enemies of Islam immediately. As regards the cases, use whichever criterion that speeds up the implementation of the [execution] verdict."

A special body, dubbed by the prisoners as the “Death Commission” carried out the fatwa. During kangaroo hearings, prisoners were asked about their ideological and political allegiances. If there were even a slight hint of sympathy with the opposition, especially toward the Mujahedeen, the prisoner would be sentenced to death.

The state-run daily Iran News, referring to the massacre, wrote on April 9, 2000, "Officials were astonished to see that these prisoners were still insisting on fighting the state and supporting the Mujahedeen."

According to testimony of Kamal Afkhami Ardekani, a former senior prison official in the notorious Evin prison, for most of July and August 1988, prisoners, including juveniles, were loaded on three forklift trucks, lifted to six cranes and hanged in groups of five or six at a time in half-hour intervals from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm every day. Within a few months, tens of thousands of political prisoners were executed.

The scale of massacre was so horrifying that Khomeini’s then designated successor, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, complained to his mentor in a July 1988 letter:

"As you presumably will insist on your decree, at least order that women not be executed, especially pregnant women. Ultimately, the execution of several thousand people in several days will not have positive repercussions and is not without mistakes."

By any measure, the massacre of 1988 constitutes a crime against humanity. The current leadership of the clerical regime, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President Mohammad Khatami, current Minister of Interior Hojjatol-Islam Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, and many others were actively involved in this hideous crime.

Today, like 1988, the mullahs seek to extinguish the flames of Iranians’ resistance against their theocracy. The gallows and public execution are now a daily spectacle in Iran. This week alone, another nine Iranians were executed; seven in public. Although the ayatollahs recognize no boundary in savagery and terror, they have not succeeded in silencing Iranians seeking democratic change.

This, however, does not mean the world should stand idly by and refuse to give a helping hand. It is imperative that Iranian democrats are recognized, assisted and empowered.

 

Never before in the history of US-Iran relations, have democracy in Iran and the security interests of the United States been so intertwined. Both can be achieved when Iranian people succeed in replacing the tyranny in Iran with a democratic, secular state.

The outside world can help. We must lift all diplomatic, political, and financial restrictions placed on anti-fundamentalist Iranian opposition groups, such as the Iranian Mujahedeen. That would be a meaningful and effective first step. It would also be in the recognition of the very spirit of resistance for which tens of thousands of Iranians gave their lives in the summer of 1988. (USADI)

 

USADI Commentary reflects the viewpoints of the US Alliance for Democratic Iran in respect to issues and events which directly or indirectly impact the US policy toward Iran

The US Alliance for Democratic Iran (USADI), is an independent, non-profit organization, which aims to advance a US policy on Iran that will benefit America through supporting Iranian people’s aspirations for a democratic, secular, and peaceful government. The USADI is not affiliated with any government agencies, political groups or parties.
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