London, 29 Jul - During the summer of 1988 a fatwa was issued that resulted in massive executions within Iran’s prisons. Estimates place the number of victims at around 30,000, most of whom had affiliations with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The proposed successor of Khomeini, Ayatollah
Hossein Ali Montazeri, was dismissed and sentenced to house arrest because of
his objections to this massacre. Last year, an audio tape was published by
Montazeri’s son. On it, you can hear the late Ayatollah Montazeri addressing
members of the committee of executioners (commonly known by Iranians as The
Death Committee). He describes this massacre as the worst crime in the history
of the Islamic Republic, and named Ibrahim Raisi, Mostafa Pour Mohammadi,
Hossein Ali Nayeri and other coordinators as criminals.
Ali Fallahian, who was the minister of
intelligence during the Rafsanjani government, said in a recent television
interview, “The view of Mr. Montazeri, who disagreed with Imam (Khomeini), was
that these executions will ultimately cause a “historical judgment” against us,
a judgement against Islam, so it is to our benefit not to conduct these
executions, but Imam said that you must perform your religious duty and don’t
wait for the judgment of history.”
Thanks to the Iranian opposition, a call for
justice was started last year, and families of the victims of the 1988 massacre
are seeking justice for their loved ones. The mass executions were carried out
in secret and the dead were buried in mass graves at night.
During the presidential elections a challenge
for both of the regime’s factions was created by this call for justice. The
divide between regime’s factions became so great that Khamenei was forced to
comment in a recent speech that “no one should be allowed to change the place
of martyr and henchman in relation to the executions of the 1980s.” He was
referring to the fact that many of the heads of this government took part in
the 1988 massacre, and the Iranian people are aware of this. He feared that
this would create internal and international consequences that he sought to
avoid.
State-run media also released Khamenei’s
praises of the movie, “Nimrooz,” the production of which was funded by the IranRevolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The movie demonized the opposition movement,
People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The regime believed that
the film would prevent another uprising similar to the one in 2009, in which
the MEK played a pivotal role in organizing protests against the regime.
Instead, after its release, former political prisoners and families of executed
prisoners condemned the events showed in the film, and called it a distortion
of the reality in history.
Additionally, the regime staged a tour of Evin
Prison for an international delegation. Fifty ambassadors of different
countries were welcomed to the prison on July 5th. Amnesty International called
this tour a “crude PR Stunt” and gave a statement saying that Evin prison is
known by the world as a symbol of wide political oppression in Iran.
Besides the MEK, executed prisoners of the
1980s were members and supporters of other opposition groups such as Marxists
and Kurds. However, MEK members and supporters accounted for more than 90
percent of the victims.
The MEK sought safety in Iraq, first at Camp
Ashraf, and later at Camp Liberty. Still, the MEK experienced a very difficult
and dangerous situation, with several attacks over the last decade. MEK members
have now been safely resettled in Europe, mostly in Albania.
Even under such dire circumstances, this
movement has attracted public sympathy. The Iranians and the International
communities are curious about this movement. The MEK is finding a fast-growing
following among the youth of Iran, who want to know the truth about what
happened in the 1980s. Even the children of regime officials seek the history
of the movement and want to know what message it conveys for them. Sympathy for
the victims of the 1988 massacre and their families has taken root in Iranian
society.
Khamenei’s confidant, Rahimpour Azghadi,
recently said, “The events of the ‘80s and 88 will uproot the regime, even if
we have the largest missile in store.”
Source: "The Events of the '80s and 88 Will Uproot the Regime," Say Confidant of Iran's Supreme Leader
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