"The Events of the '80s and 88 Will Uproot the Regime," Say Confidant of #Iran's Supreme Leader
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 Iran Revolutionary 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.”
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