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1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners

1988 execution of political prisoners in Iran
Ebrahim Raisi (right) and Mostafa Pourmohammadi (left), two members of "Judges of Death" committee, in 2013
DateJuly–December 1988 (some sources say July–September)[1]
LocationIran
TypeMass execution
TargetIranian left-wing political opposition groups, most notably the MEK, OIPFM and the Tudeh Party of Iran
Deaths2,800 to 30,000 people killed[2] (exact number unknown)[3][4][5][6]
AccusedHossein-Ali Nayyeri (who was then a judge), Morteza Eshraqi (then Tehran Prosecutor), Ebrahim Raisi (then deputy prosecutor general) and Mostafa Pourmohammadi (then the representative of the Intelligence Ministry in Evin Prison), Hamid Nouri (then the assistant to the deputy prosecutor)[7]
ConvictedTrial of Hamid Nouri

In mid-1988, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners. These executions happened throughout Iran and lasted about five months, beginning in July.[8]: 8, 13  They took place in at least 32 cities across the country, and were carried out without any legal authority. Trials were not concerned with establishing guilt or innocence.[9][10] Many prisoners were also tortured.[8]: 34 [9][11] Great care was taken to conceal the executions.[12]

The exact number killed is unknown, but estimates by some human rights organizations say that up to 5,000 people were killed.[13][3] Others, such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), put the estimate between 2,800 and 30,000.[2] Amnesty International and United Nations Human Rights Council estimate that at least 30,000 killed.[8][page needed]

Reportedly, most of those killed were supporters of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MeK). Members of other leftist factions, such as the Fedaian and the Tudeh Party of Iran (Communist Party), were also killed.[14][15]: 209–228  Various motives have been offered for the executions. One possible motive was that the killings were revenge for the MeK's Operation Mersad, which took place in 1988 on Iran's western borders. However, people from other leftist groups, who had nothing to do with the MeK's attack, were also killed.[15]: 218  According to Iran's then-Deputy-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Montazeri, officials had been planning the executions for years, using the MeK operation as an excuse to carry them out.[8]: 81–83 [10]

Survivors of the executions have repeatedly called for compensation and for the killers to face prosecution.[16] Some have described them as "Iran's greatest crime against humanity".[17] They were condemned by Montazeri;[18] the United Nations Human Rights Council;[19] and several countries including Sweden,[20] Canada,[21] and Italy.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Iran: 1988 Mass Executions Evident Crimes Against Humanity". 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Da Silva, Chantal (20 May 2024). "Grief, but also relief for some, after Iran President Raisi dies in helicopter crash". NBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Smith, Dan (1999). The State of the Middle East, Revised and Updated: An Atlas of Conflict and Resolution. University of California Press. ISBN 9781134039227.
  4. ^ "Khomeini fatwa 'led to killing of 30,000 in Iran'". The Telegraph. 4 February 2001.
  5. ^ "Iran war crimes verdict looms as opposition seeks justice for 1988 killings". The National News. 13 July 2022.
  6. ^ Ehteshami, Anoushiravan (2017). Iran: Stuck in Transition (The Contemporary Middle East). Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 9781351985451. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 individuals may have been executed at that time, in response to a religious edict issued by Ayatollah Khomeini that there was no room for apostates in his Islamic republic. Ayatollah Montazeri also alluded to this tragedy in his memoirs (published in 2001) and the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center's detailed report on the executions notes that estimates of those killed range from 1,000 to 30,000. See IHRDC, Deadly Fatwa: Iran's 1988 Prison Massacre (New Haven, CT: IHRDC, 2009). The insider's account is provided by Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khatirat-i Ayatollah Montazeri, Majmu'iyyih Payvastha va Dastnivisha [Memoir of Ayatollah Montazeri, the Collection of Appendices and Handwritten Notes] (2001).
  7. ^ "Iranian war criminal freed by Sweden in prisoner swap deal". 16 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "Blood-soaked secrets: Why Iran's 1998 Prison Massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity" (PDF). Amnesty International. 4 December 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Iran's 1988 Mass Executions". Human Rights Watch. 8 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Iran: Top government officials distorted the truth about 1988 prison massacres". 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Families Of Prisoners Killed In 1988 Mass Executions Demand Answers". Radio Farda. 5 October 2020.
  12. ^ "احمد خاتمی: امام خمینی با اعدام‌های ۶۷ خدمت بزرگی به ملت کرد". Deutsche Welle persian. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Iran cleric linked to 1988 mass executions to lead judiciary". AP News. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Iranian party demands end to repression". Archived from the original on 24 September 2005.
  15. ^ a b Abrahamian, Ervand (1999). Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran. Berkeley: University of California Press. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  16. ^ "More Than 100 Prominent Iranians Ask UN to Declare 1988 Massacre 'Crime Against Humanity'". Center for Human Rights in Iran. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Trend in Prosecution of Human Rights Abusers Should Extend to Iran's President". IntPolicyDigest.
  18. ^ Basmenji, Kaveh (2005). Tehran Blues: Youth Culture in Iran. Saqui Books. ISBN 978-0863565823.
  19. ^ "United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and NGOs condemned human rights violations in Iran". Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference sweden-jails was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Akhlaghi, Reza (14 June 2013). "Canada Recognizes Iran's 1988 Massacre as Crime against Humanity". Foreign Policy Blog. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.

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إعدام السجناء السياسيين في إيران 1988 Arabic İranda siyasi məhbusların edamı (1988) AZ Henrettelserne af politiske fanger i Iran 1988 Danish Massenhinrichtung politischer Gefangener im Iran von 1988 German Εκτελέσεις Ιρανών πολιτικών κρατουμένων το 1988 Greek Ejecuciones de prisioneros políticos iraníes de 1988 Spanish اعدام‌های دسته‌جمعی تابستان ۱۳۶۷ ایران FA Iranin poliittisten vankien teloitukset 1988 Finnish Exécution des prisonniers politiques iraniens de 1988 French Esecuzione dei prigionieri politici iraniani del 1988 Italian

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