U.N. is Urged to Investigate the 1988 Massacre of Iranian Political Prisoners

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Massacre of Iranian Political Prisoners
Iranian officials brazenly claim Khomeini’s fatwa still stands against The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), dissidents.

Massacre of Iranian Political Prisoners

The following is a summary of an appeal by 21human rights groups to have the1988 massacre of 30,000 political activists in Iran fully investigated. The perpetrators of this massacre never faced justice and in fact, some of them now occupy important and leading positions in the Iranian government.

The 21 NGOs released the following statement:

“It is time to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We appeal to the United Nations (UN) and its Member States to investigate the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran and to hold the perpetrators of that ‘ongoing crime against humanity’ accountable.

Crimes against humanity are not bound by the statute of limitations, and even though the 1988 massacre was perpetrated 32 years ago, it is still prosecutable today. Iranian officials brazenly claim Khomeini’s fatwa still stands against The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), dissidents. The perpetrators of the 1988 massacre today run the Iranian government and Judiciary. The survivors are still alive, and the evidence is all readily available.

On behalf of our respective NGOs, we appeal to the Human Rights Council to take urgent action to end the impunity enjoyed by Iranian officials and prevent the massacre of detained protesters. Leaders of the Iranian government must face justice for committing crimes against humanity in the recent massive suppression and bloodshed.

We believe that until the international community holds the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre to account, Iran’s authorities would continue to be emboldened to further crackdown with impunity on present-day protesters. Iranian officials construe silence and inaction by the international community as a green light to continue and step up their crimes.

We, therefore, call on the Human Rights Council to set up a commission of inquiry into the 1988 massacre and achieve justice for the victims of that crime against humanity.

We urge High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to support the launch of independent fact-finding missions into the 1988 massacre and the recent massacre of Iranian protesters.

Furthermore, we appeal to the UN Special Procedures, in particular the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of nonrecurrence, Fabian Salvioli, to investigate Iran’s 1988 massacre as part of their mandates.”

Some background to the appeal:

The 1988 massacre was mainly of activists who supported or were members of the main opposition organization (PMOI / MEK Iran). The Supreme Leader at the time, Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or death sentence on any member of the MEK.

This fatwa has never been lifted and has given justification by the regime to continue to arrest and imprison anyone who they remotely think is connected to the MEK in Iran. In fact, the fatwa is also the principle that allows the regime to continue to pursue its acts of oppression and terror against the Iranian opposition outside Iran’s borders. This includes sending MOIS agents to Albania where the MEK has its current base at Ashraf-3 and even an attempt to blow up a summit in Paris in 2018, organized by the opposition umbrella organization, the NCRI.

As the regime becomes increasingly unstable and its inability to govern Iran in the best interests of its people is exposed so that all can see, including many foreign individuals and organizations, it is lashing out more and more wherever it sees the slightest sign of dissent. The recent execution of well known Iranian wrestler, Navid Afkari, is an example.

The Iranian regime has been able to continue its policy of internal repression and external terror by the seeming acquiescence of foreign governments. The appeal made by the 21NGOs hopes that the U.N. will soon start to address the long unresolved issue of brutal tactics in Iran by the regime which should not be allowed to continue.

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