The family members all currently live in Iran, and all put their names to the letter, a potentially dangerous
Almost 30 years have passed, and Iran’s government would like people to forget the atrocity it committed. But the memory only grows more bitter, even among those unborn in 1988.
August 30, 2017-- The families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s have appealed to the United Nations to publicize the truth about one of the Islamic Republic’s most horrific crimes against its people.
Fifty Iranian citizens whose family members were killed in mass executions have written to Asma Jahangir, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. They appealed to Jahangir to work with the U.N.’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to clarify what happened—and to force the Islamic Republic to acknowledge the crime. The letter demands those responsible for the mass executions be tried in a public court, and be charged with violating Iran’s constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The family members all currently live in Iran, and all put their names to the letter, a potentially dangerous move.
Widespread executions of political opponents of the Islamic Republic began immediately after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The trials of the victims lasted no more than a few minutes and those executed were not given a chance to defend themselves. The worst massacre took place in the summer of 1988, with a mass execution occurring only a few days after the Islamic Republic accepted the U.N. Security Council’s resolution to end the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.
In many cases, victims had already been given prison sentences, and some of those executed had even completed their sentences at the time of their deaths. The true number of dead, however, is still unknown, since the executions were carried out in secret.
Fifty Iranian citizens whose family members were killed in mass executions have written to Asma Jahangir, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. They appealed to Jahangir to work with the U.N.’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to clarify what happened—and to force the Islamic Republic to acknowledge the crime. The letter demands those responsible for the mass executions be tried in a public court, and be charged with violating Iran’s constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The family members all currently live in Iran, and all put their names to the letter, a potentially dangerous move.
Widespread executions of political opponents of the Islamic Republic began immediately after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The trials of the victims lasted no more than a few minutes and those executed were not given a chance to defend themselves. The worst massacre took place in the summer of 1988, with a mass execution occurring only a few days after the Islamic Republic accepted the U.N. Security Council’s resolution to end the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.
In many cases, victims had already been given prison sentences, and some of those executed had even completed their sentences at the time of their deaths. The true number of dead, however, is still unknown, since the executions were carried out in secret.
Their bodies were buried in mass unmarked graves, mostly at Khavaran Cemetery in southeastern Tehran, and the families were not informed. Even today, the families face harassment when visiting the graves of their loved ones. For decades, the Islamic Republic has made enormous efforts to erase the memory of the massacre.
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