As International Human Rights Day Approaches, Iran Behaves Badly
By Alan Gray
-Wed December 13, 2017
Shahram Tavana, Director of the “Iran Azadi” website and editor of the Iran Freedom website provides information about human rights in Iran.
Mr. Tavana says “As International Human Rights day approaches, Iran, a country that is notoriously renowned for its abysmal human rights situation, is once again drawing the attention of human rights organizations and activists across the world.”
The Iran Human Rights Monitor documents the human rights situation in Iran. According to the Monitor, Iran still does not respect the basic rights of its citizens.
The rate of executions in Iran has not slowed down, even with the so-called “moderate”President . Iran presently accounts for 55 percent of documented capital punishment executions throughout the world. Tavana says “Iran has also seen an uptick in aggression against political prisoners and deteriorating humanitarian conditions in its prisons.”A highlight of the past year was the open discussion of the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran. Most of those murdered were members and supporters of The Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran.
The release of this information has become the focus of social protests and political debates. Tavana says “The people of Iran are demanding the truth be revealed and the perpetrators of the crime punished.”
The main Iranian opposition has been publicizing the issue, which had previously been kept quiet by the state.
An audio recording by Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini’s former heir-apparent was released in 2016. It was reported in the story: Khomeini Ex-Heir Acknowledges Massacre Of PMOI by Iran Regime. In that story, it was reported:
The massacre of political prisoners began in late July 1988, and continued for several months, until autumn 1988. Most of the 30,000 political prisoners were members of PMOI/MEK. The victims of the massacre are buried in mass graves across Iran. Some are buried in Khavaran Cemetery in south-east Tehran.
Most of the people who were executed were serving prison sentences for their political activities. Some had already finished their sentences but were still kept in prison. Some had been imprisoned and released, but were arrested again and executed during the massacre.
The full report from Iran HRM is available at the link below:
http://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2017/12/08/glance-abysmal-human-rights-situation-iran/#comment-782