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To our readers,
We decided to print information we had received months before the killings of prisoners in Ghezelhesar prison.
Due the fact that the present Iranian officials are in various ways connected to these killings and many other ones in the past, we decided to print the information.
We have printed the information as we ave recieved it from a source in Iran.
We would appreciate any comment
DL
The following pages contain preliminary information on 21individuals who have played an active role, in various capacities, in the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. The list, although not exhaustive, does identify the principal figures involved in the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa that ordered the extermination of political prisoners.
Ali Khamenei.
Name: Ali
Family Name: Khamenei
POSITION IN 1988: President
CURRENT POSITION: Vali-e Faqih (Supreme Leader)
OTHER POSITIONS:
1 Member, Revolutionary Council
2 President, two terms for a total of eight years
3 Supreme Leader since 1989
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
1 Khamenei was present in the meeting where Khomeini ordered the massacre .Khamenei strongly supported Khomeini's order and persistently defended the fatwa when international condemnation mounted.
2 As President and the highest ranking executive authority in 1988, Khamenei bears primary responsibility for the massacre. As President, he allowed unlimited governmental resources to be used in implementing Khomeini's order.
3 Khamenei has since been actively involved in preventing the exposure of the carnage. In order to protect the "interests of the system" after the 1988 massacre and keep the crimes against humanity from being exposed, he prevented the UNHRC Special Representative from visiting Iran (reported by the regime's radio on December 6, 1988).
OTHER CHARGES:
1 The terrorist operations outside Iran targeting hundreds of Iranian dissidents are initially approved by Khamenei and then submitted to the Supreme National Security Council for further review and subsequently put into implementation.
2 A German court referred to Khamenei's role in the killing of four Iranian dissidents by agents of the Intelligence Ministry in the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin .The court identified Khamenei as the highest authority for giving orders for the assassinations.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Khamenei acknowledged his responsibility and defended the massacre of political prisoners "With respect to executions, mass executions in Iran, ... have we banned capital punishment? No. We in the Islamic Republic have capital punishment for those who deserve to be executed. Do you think we should give sweets to a prisoner who has connections with the activities of the Monafeqin who attacked the Islamic Republic's borders? If his connection with that group is revealed, what should we do to him? He is condemned to execution and we will execute him. We do not joke with this" (Tehran radio, December 12, 1988.)
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Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani.
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Hashemi-Rafsanjani
POSITION IN 1988:
Speaker of Parliament, Acting Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
CURRENT POSITION:
Head of the State Exigencies Council ,Deputy Speaker of Assembly of Experts
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the Revolutionary Council, Minister of the Interior, President 1989 1997-
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Khomeini first raised the idea of his fatwa for the massacre at a meeting attended by his son Ahmad, Rafsanjani (the then Speaker of the Majlis and Acting Commander in Chief), Ali Khamenei (the then President), Abdolkarim Moussavi Ardebili (the then Chief Justice), Mohammad Moussavi Khoeiniha (the then Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor), and Mohammad Khatami (the then Director of Cultural Affairs at the General Command of the Armed Forces and Minister of Islamic Guidance).
-2 As Acting Commander in Chief and the regime's de facto Number Two after Khomeini, Rafsanjani vigorously defended the fatwa for the massacre. He stated" ;In the recent affair, the Mersad Operation, there were people inside Iran who wanted to engage in extensive sabotage. They were punished." (State radio, December 6,)1988
-3 After Khomeini issued the fatwa, Rafsanjani oversaw its enforcement as Khomeini's representative and reported to him on the progress of the massacre.
-4 As the Acting Commander in Chief, Rafsanjani ordered that all the military personnel who had deserted or surrendered themselves to the PMOI dissidents must be executed. The order was carried out.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In the summer of 1981, as large-scale execution of dissidents began, Rafsanjani demanded more ruthless repression. He said publicly: "At the outset of the Revolution we made a mistake: we did not kill 200 -PMOI-Mojahedin, now we have to kill them by the thousands."
-2 During his presidency, he ordered the execution of many dissidents abroad .One such example was the assassination of Professor. Kazem Rajavi in Geneva in April1990. The victim's brother, Massoud Rajavi, revealed Rafsanjani's crime based on the testimony of reputable witnesses, and the Swiss media published the details .Rafsanjani tried to sue one of the reporters, but a Geneva court ruled in favor of the journalist and rejected Rafsanjani's claim of libel.
-3 As chairman of the regime's Supreme National Security Council between 1989 and 1997, Rafsanjani personally endorsed plans for the assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad.
-4 A Berlin Court found Rafsanjani guilty as one of a group of the highest officials of the Islamic Republic who had ordered the assassination of four dissident Iranians in Mykonos restaurant in 1992.
-5 Throughout the year 2000, more evidence of Rafsanjani's role in a chain of politically motivated murders in Iran has surfaced.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Rafsanjani: "God's law prescribes four punishments for them (the Mojahedin.-1 )Kill them. 2-Hang them, 3-Cut off their hands and feet 4-Banish them. If we had killed two hundred of them right after the Revolution, their numbers would not have mounted this way. I repeat that according to the Quran, we are determined to destroy all [Mojahedin] who display enmity against Islam" ( Ettela'at, October 31, 1981).
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Mohammad Khatami.
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Khatami
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Islamic Guidance ,Director of Cultural Affairs at the General Command of the Armed Forces
CURRENT POSITION:
President since 1997
OTHER POSITIONS:
-1 Khomeini appointed him Supervisor of Kayhan (Iran's biggest-circulation daily(
-2 Member of the Majlis (parliament) from Ardekan
-3 Minister of Guidance from 1982 until 1992
-4 Advisor to the President and Director of the National Library 1992-1997
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Khatami participated in the session in which Khomeini, for the first time, discussed plans for the execution of all political prisoners.
-2 In governmental meetings, Khatami consistently opposed those worried about the social and international backlash of the massacre and strongly defended Khomeini's edict. As Minister of Guidance, he was responsible for suppressing any news of the massacre or criticism of it by various circles. As Ressalat and Iran News ,state-run dailies, recently reported: "This edict was issued and enforced when Mr.Khatami was Director of Cultural Affairs at the Armed Forces General Command and he resolutely defended His Holiness the Imam's decision."
-3 Abusing his powers as President, he has tried to cover up these mass murders ,especially his own role in them. The daily Gozaresh, dated April 9, 2000, reported: " Arya daily was closed down on the explicit, personal order of President Khatami, enforced immediately by the Ministry of Guidance, after it carried a story about the massacre of political prisoners in 1988."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 From the outset, he was a close advisor to Khomeini. He personally directed the censorship and repression of writers and artists for ten years as Minister of Guidance. Many of the most outstanding Iranian writers and artists were executed by firing squads during his term as Minister of Guidance.
-2 During the war (with Iraq), Khatami was responsible for mobilizing school children who died by the tens of thousands in senseless human-wave attacks across minefields. Khatami's role in this atrocity indeed amounts to a war crime.
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Abdulkarim Moussavi Ardebili
Name: Abdulkarim
Family Name: Moussavi Ardebili
POSITION IN 1988:
Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic, head of the Supreme Judicial Council
CURRENT POSITION:
One of the regime's official interpreters of canon law )a jurist worthy of being followed or "emulated" (,theological lecturer in city of Qom's seminaries
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the ruling clergy's Revolutionary Council. The first Chief Prosecutor under Khomeini
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 He appointed religious judges to the death committees throughout Iran.
-2 He conveyed Khomeini's fatwa for the massacre to religious judges and prosecutors throughout Iran and ordered them to join the death committees.
-3 He is among those who directly received Khomeini's fatwa for the massacre. He then made sure the judiciary would obey it. (Refer to a handwritten note by Khomeini's late son, Ahmad, on Khomeini's fatwa. Montazeri has published the document in his memoirs(
-4 Moussavi-Ardebili ordered speedy execution of political prisoners without any judicial formalities. On August 6, 1988, in an interview broadcast by the national radio network, he stated: "The Judiciary is under great pressure...There are questions about why these people are not executed. They must all be executed. We will no longer have trials or bother with the dossiers of the convicts."
OTHER CHARGES:
During his tenure as Chief Justice between 1981 and 1989, more than 90,000 executions took place. Ardebili was the ultimate judicial authority as Chief of the entire Judicial System
REMARKS:
Moussavi-Ardebili's own confession of some of these wholesale crimes against humanity is included.
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Mohammad Moussavi Khoeiniha
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Moussavi Khoeiniha
POSITION IN 1988:
Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor
CURRENT POSITION:
Leader of the Second Khordad Front (Supporters of Khatami); and member of the State Exigencies Council
OTHER POSITIONS:
Leader of the "Students Following the Line of the Imam" who held American diplomats in Tehran hostage for 444 days
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Khomeini personally assigned the task of implementing the fatwa for the massacre to Khoeiniha as Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor.
-2 In all "death committees" he had his own representatives who directly reported to him.
-3 He dismissed several local prosecutors who objected to the mass murders.
-4 From 1985 through 1988, as Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor, he was instrumental in the execution of thousands of people.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 He and his deputy prosecutors issued at least 100,000 arrest warrants for dissidents. Most of the detainees were subjected to savage torture. Huge numbers were executed.
-2 He appointed special representatives in the Ministry of Intelligence and its departments throughout Iran in order to expedite the arrest and torture of political dissidents.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Le Monde, March 1, 1989: "Imam Khomeini summoned Revolutionary Prosecutor Hojjatoleslam [Mohammad Moussavi] Khoeiniha and ordered him to treat all Mojahedin, in prison or elsewhere, as being at war with God and execute them summarily..."
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Ali Fallahian
First Name: Ali
Last Name: Fallahian
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
Member of Assembly of Experts
OTHER POSITIONS:
Religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Abadan
Religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Kermanshah
Minister of Intelligence
Special Prosecutor
Deputy Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor
Head of the Armed Forces Counter-intelligence Organization
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
In his position as deputy to Intelligence Minister Rayshahri, Fallahian played an active role in implementing Khomeini's orders. He appointed many of the Intelligence Ministry officials to the "death committees."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the religious judge in several cities including Abadan and Kermanshah, he issued the execution order and imprisonment of several hundred people.
-2 In 1982, as the Deputy Chief of the Revolutionary Court, he coordinated the activities of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and the Central Committee and Revolutionary Guards Intelligence which led to the violent crackdown of 1982. ( Abrar Newspaper August 20, 1989). As a result of the regime's Revolutionary Guards' attack on the houses of Mojahedin members and supporters in Tehran, at least 60 were killed. The list of their names is available.
-3 In his position as the religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, he was able to discover and destroy Mojahedin's organization in Kermanshah and Khorassan provinces. ( Abrar, August 20, 1989) Fallahian signed the execution orders of many Mojahedin members and supporters in these two provinces.
-4 In his position as the Deputy Intelligence Minster, he was responsible for the training of terrorist teams operating outside Iran.
-5 Judge Roland Chatelain, the Swiss magistrate in charge of investigations into the 1990 assassination of Dr. Kazem Rajavi, declared in July 1997 that Fallahian had masterminded Dr. Rajavi's assassination.
-6 A Berlin court which investigated the assassination of four Iranian dissidents declared after a four-year investigation that Fallahian was the mastermind and organizer of this crime. The court issued an international arrest warrant for Fallahian.
-7 Fallahian issued the order to assassinate Mr. Mohammad-Hossein Naghdi, the National Council of Resistance's Representative in Italy. This terrorist act was carried out by agents of the Intelligence Ministry in 1993.
-8 Fallahian issued orders to kidnap and kill Mr. Ali-Akbar Ghorbani, a member of the Mojahedin, in 1992 in Turkey. Ghorbani died under torture and his mutilated body was discovered a few months later.
-9 Fallahian issued orders to kidnap and assassinate Ms. Zahra Rajabi, a senior member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He directly supervised this operation which was carried out in February 1996. The initial plan was to kidnap Zahra Rajabi, but at the time due to the resistance of a Mojahedin supporter who accompanied her, the Intelligence Ministry's terrorists killed both of them. One of these terrorists who was arrested confessed to the Turkish authorities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
-10 The assassination of Shahpour Bakhtiar in Paris in August 1991 was ordered by Fallahian and carried out by agents of the Intelligence Ministry.
-11 Fallahian's Intelligence Ministry carried out 51 terrorist operations against the Mojahedin in Iraq. Ruhollah Hosseinian, a former Intelligence Minister Deputy, has confessed that Saeed Emami (Fallahian's deputy) led 100 operations against the Mojahedin outside Iran.
-12 Fallahian is one of the principal figures behind the murder of writers and intellectuals in Iran, known as the "chain political murders." He was the organizer of these assassinations. A list including the names of 111 of those assassinated is available.
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Mohammad Mohammadi Rayshahri
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Mohammadi Rayshahri
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
Representative of Supreme Leader Khamenei for the pilgrimage to Mecca.
OTHER POSITIONS:
Judge of the Special Court for the Clergy; judge in the Revolutionary Tribunal ;President of the Military Tribunals; founder of the Ministry of Intelligence.
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Appointment of the death committees, each consisting of three members, in Tehran and the provinces. These committees interviewed all prisoners and decided who should be executed. Montazeri reveals that the committees were dominated by the Intelligence Ministry representatives, who insisted on the highest number of executions.
-2 Rayshahri headed an oversight committee in Evin Prison. On the first day of the massacre, this committee drew up details for the execution of more than 10,000 political prisoners in Tehran on Khomeini's orders. Other members were Raissi, Nayyeri, Mortazavi, Mohseni-Ezhei, Mobasheri. and Pourmohammadi.
-3 The arbitrary detention of thousands of former political prisoners and young supporters of the Mojahedin and the re-arrest of thousands of released political prisoners. His ministry organized the execution by firing squads of these victims along with political prisoners.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Ordering the execution of dozens of people during the years 1979 through 1981 as a roving Revolutionary Judge in Gachsaran, Dezful, Behbahan, Khorramabad and Borujerd.
"-2 Purges" of thousands of dissident military personnel as chief judge and prosecutor of Military Tribunals from 1980 through 1984. He personally ordered the execution of several hundred servicemen during this period.
-3 Detention of many dissident clergymen and the execution of several of them.
-4 As the founder of the Intelligence Ministry, he was responsible for institutionalizing torture, kidnapping, murder, sexual assault on women detainees and an endless list of crimes committed by the Intelligence Ministry agents under his command.
REMARKS:
Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Rayshahri's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Morteza Eshraghi
Name: Morteza
Last Name: Eshraghi
POSITION IN 1988:
Tehran Prosecutor and chair of the death committee in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Justice of the Supreme Court
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 The Chief Prosecutor of Tehran and the head of the death committee in Tehran .He was appointed by Khomeini
-2 Along with other members of the death committee, Eshraghi is responsible for issuing execution verdicts for at least 10,000 political prisoners during the massacre.
REMARKS:
Many individuals who were in prison during the massacre and closely witnessed Eshraghi's role are ready to serve as witnesses and testify in an international court.
Similarly, several former members of the Intelligence Ministry and former employees of Evin prison are ready to serve as eyewitness and testify in an international court. One of these witnesses personally attended a meeting at which the procedures for implementing Khomeini's order were discussed.
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Jaafar Nayyeri
Name: Jaafar
Family Name: Nayyeri
POSITION IN 1988:
Presiding Judge of Revolutionary Tribunal in Tehran and Chairman of the central "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Religious judge and chairman of the central "death committee" in Tehran, personally appointed by Khomeini.
-2 Personally ordered the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners during the massacre.
-3 According to Montazeri, in a meeting on August 12, 1988, Nayyeri confessed to some of his crimes by stating: "We have so far executed 750 people in Tehran. We have separated two hundred others because of their views and will get rid of them as well."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In the past two decades, as a religious judge, judge of the Revolutionary Tribunals and holder of other senior positions in the ruling clergy's courts, Nayyeri has ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners.
REMARKS:
-1 Many eyewitnesses, prisoners who witnessed the crimes, are ready to testify in any trial.
-2 Some former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are ready to testify about Nayyeri's crimes
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Mostafa Pourmohammadi
Name: Mostafa
Family Name: Pourmohammadi
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy Minister of Intelligence and member of the "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
National Security Advisor to the Supreme Leader
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Representative of the Ministry of Intelligence in the central "death committee "in Tehran
-2 The principal figure behind the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners in the massacre
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 For 13 years, he consistently held high positions in the Ministry of Intelligence .From 1989 through 1997, he was Deputy Minister of Intelligence under Fallahian .During this period, Pourmohammadi played a direct role in the arrest, torture and murder of thousands of political prisoners.
-2 He was one of the key masterminds of a chain of political assassinations in and outside Iran.
-3 Pourmohammadi played an instrumental role in dozens of murders involving dissidents and intellectuals in Iran throughout the 1990s. Among the victims was his own cousin, Mrs. Ashraf-os-Sadat Borghei, who was killed at her home in Qom in March 1996. Emadoddin Baghi, a journalist who was later jailed for his revelations, wrote in Fat'h newspaper on January 29, 2000: "The murderers of Mrs. Borghei put the house on fire to make it look like a fire and conceal their crime. Deputy Intelligence Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was the cousin of Mrs. Borghei, was at a house near the scene of the crime, together with Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian." Baghi later revealed a letter from Borghei's husband in which he accused Pourmohammadi of killing his wife. Mrs. Borghei was working for the Intelligence Ministry.
REMARKS:
-1 Many eyewitnesses, prisoners during these crimes against humanity, are willing to testify against Pourmohammadi in any court.
-2 In addition, a number of former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are willing to provide eye-witness testimony about Pourmohammadi's crimes against humanity.
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Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ezhei
Name: Gholam-Hossein
Family Name: Mohseni Ezhei
POSITION IN 1988:
Special representative of the Chief Justice in the Ministry of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
President of the Special Court for the Clergy since 1998
OTHER POSITIONS:
Judiciary's representative in the Ministry of Intelligence until 1995
President of Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court
Deputy Revolutionary Prosecutor in Tehran
Religious judge of the State Employees Tribunal
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Mohseni Ezhei was a member of the top supervisory committee that under Intelligence Minister Rayshahri met in Evin Prison to oversee the progress of the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa. It was this committee that set down the procedures for the massacre before the executions began.
-2 Mohseni Ezhei was present in Tehran's prisons throughout the period of the massacre and assisted the death committees as a religious judge and oversaw the executions.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the religious judge of the State Employees Tribunal, Mohseni Ezhei has issued thousands of verdicts for the dismissal, arrest and execution of dissident employees of the government
-2 As the special representative of the judiciary in the Intelligence Ministry ,Mohseni Ezhei "facilitated" the unlawful acts of the Intelligence Ministry's agents by giving them authorization for murder and harassment of the citizens. In that position, he issued thousands of arrest warrants and ordered the torture of detainees. He also issued death decrees for prisoners who were killed under torture.
-3 Mohseni Ezhei has issued death decrees for the murder of several dissident intellectuals and writers. Newspapers in Iran revealed that Pirouz Davani, a writer ,was abducted and killed by Intelligence Ministry agents on a secret decree issued by Mohseni.
REMARKS:
Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Mohseni Ezhei's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani
First Name: Mohammad
Last Name: Mohammadi Gilani
POSITION IN 1988:
Secretary of the Guardian Council
CURRENT POSITION:
Chief of the Supreme Court
OTHER POSITIONS:
Chief of Tehran's Revolutionary Court Member of the Guardian Council
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
As the most influential religious judge in the regime, Gilani played an active role in the massacre of 1988 by overseeing the work of the death committees.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As Chief of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, he issued numerous death sentences. Several thousand individuals have been tried by him summarily and sentenced to death. The courts lasted for only a few minutes and the defendants were never given a chance to defend themselves or appeal the court's verdict.
-2 He ordered the execution of two of his own children, who were members of the Mojahedin.
-3 Gilani has openly and repeatedly supported torture, public executions, etc.
-4 In his position as the president of the Supreme Court, he has upheld thousands of death sentences passed by courts and religious judges across the country.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Mohammadi Gilani, then-Religious Judge of Tehran: "We must use Ta'azir )torture) on these [Mojahedin] to make them tell us where they have hidden their weapons. According to Islam, even if they die under torture, no one is held accountable. This is the precise decree of the Imam" (Ettela'at, October 30, 1981(.
Mohammadi Gilani: "Those who are arrested during armed street demonstrations can be lined up against a wall and shot on the spot. The wounded can also be finished off on the spot. From the religious point of view, there is no need to bring such people to court, because they have waged war on God. Their sentence is clear…." ( Kayhan, September 20, 1981)
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Ali Younessi
First Name: Ali
Last Name: Younessi
POSITION IN 1988:
First deputy to the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, religious judge
CURRENT POSITION:
Minister of Intelligence since 1999
OTHER POSITIONS:
Religious Judge of Qom
Chief of Tehran Revolutionary Court
Chief of the Army Revolutionary Court, religious judge of the armed forces
Khomeini's representative for rebuilding the Army Counter-intelligence Organization
General Prosecutor of Tehran
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 As the religious judge, he was directly involved in the prosecution and execution of political prisoners
-2 In his position as chief of the 2nd Branch of the Revolutionary Court and a religious judge, he had an active role in the arrest of dissident servicemen, ordering the execution of many of them.
-4 In 1986, he was Khomeini's representative for rebuilding the Army's Counterintelligence Organization and in 1988, he was the representative of the Acting Commander of Chief for intelligence and security issues. In this position, he for the second time proceeded to purge the military personnel and to arrest and execute dissident servicemen.
-5 From 1988 to 1993, he was Tehran's General Prosecutor. In this capacity, he was personally responsible for the execution of many prisoners.
-6 From 1993 until 1999, he was Chief of the Armed Forces' Judicial Organization .In this position, he issued death sentences for several hundred servicemen opposing the regime and supporting the Mojahedin
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Ali-Akbar Mohtashami
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Mohtashami
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of the Interior
CURRENT POSITION:
Majlis deputy, leader of Khatami's faction in the Majlis
OTHER POSITIONS:
Ambassador to Syria
Responsible for the regime's terrorist activities abroad in the 1980s
Presidential counselor (under Khatami(
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As Interior Minister, he was instrumental in carrying out the large-scale arrest of former political prisoners and Mojahedin sympathizers across the country, because Khomeini's fatwa required that in addition to those Mojahedin supporters in jail ,others at large also be caught and executed..
-2 Mohtashami vigorously defended the massacre and suppressed all internal dissent. The Komiteh Revolutionary Guards under his command were responsible for suppression and intimidation of families of victims..
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the acting commander in chief of the internal security forces (Komiteh, (Mohtashami was responsible in the 1980s for the arrest and torture and murder of numerous political activists and dissidents across the country .Mohtashami's role in the foreign terrorist operations of the mullahs' regime throughout the 1980s is well documented.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Mohtashami: "There are crimes which must be punished by execution. It is natural that the punishment for the Mojahedin is execution. All the rumors about mass executions is only about those who were executed in Mersad operation... But to put this issue to rest, I must say that all those who were arrested and all those who joined [the Mojahedin] have been executed" (An interview with Iran's Interior Minister, Al-Mostaqbal daily, Lebanon, February 24, 1989(.
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Ebrahim Raissi
Name: Ebrahim
Last Name: Raissi
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy to the Tehran Prosecutor and influential member of "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Head of the State Inspectorate Office
OTHER POSITIONS:
President of Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court for Political Groups
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Raissi was one of the most influential members of the "death committee" in Tehran and along with its other members was responsible for the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners in Tehran
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the President of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for Political Groups, Raissi has been involved in the arrest, torture, and execution of members and supporters of political groups, especially the Mojahedin
REMARKS:
Many individuals who were in prison during the massacre and closely witnessed Raissi's role are ready to serve as witnesses and testify in an international court. Similarly, many former members of the Intelligence Ministry and former employees of Evin prison are ready to serve as eyewitnesses and testify in an international court.
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Mohammad Moghisse'i (aka Naserian)
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Moghisse'i (aka Naserian)
POSITION IN 1988:
Governor of Gohardasht Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
Senior official in the judiciary
OTHER POSITIONS:
Top official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Tehran Interrogator in Evin Prison's Branch 3
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the governor of Gohardasht Prison, Moghisse'i sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in that prison.
-2 He personally hanged numerous prisoners in Gohardasht during the massacre.
-3 In the exceptional cases that other members of the "death committee" wanted to show some leniency, Moghisse'i always prevented them and had the prisoner executed.
-4 Under his direction, thousands of prisoners in Gohardasht were executed during the massacre and the few survivors were transferred to Evin.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Moghisse'i has been described by many former prisoners as the most ruthless among all the savage torturers and executioners in Khomeini's prisons. This ruthlessness allowed him to rise quickly in the mullahs' hierarchy and become the governor of a major prison by 1987.
-2 As the governor of Gohardasht, he introduced the most savage types of torture to the prison. Hundreds of prisoners lost their mental balance under these tortures and hundreds more died under torture.
-3 He himself raped numerous women prisoners and encouraged this practice during his term as governor.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners from Gohardasht who are prepared to testify on Moghisse'i's crimes.
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Seyyed Hossein Mortazavi
Name: Seyyed Hossein
Family Name: Mortazavi
POSITION IN 1988:
Governor of Evin Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
Senior official in the judiciary
OTHER POSITIONS:
Candidate for Majlis from the city of Zanjan
Official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office
Interrogator in Evin Prison
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the governor of Evin Prison, Mortazavi sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in that prison.
-2 He executed numerous prisoners in Evin during the massacre.
-3 Thousands of prisoners in Evin were executed during the massacre under Mortazavi's personal supervision
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Mortazavi was one of the most ruthless torturers in Evin and was personally responsible for killing many prisoners under torture.
-2 As the governor of Evin, he ordered the arbitrary execution of numerous prisoners.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners from Evin who are prepared to testify on Mortazavi's crimes. There are also several former members of the Intelligence Ministry who have indicated their readiness to testify about Mortazavi's crimes.
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Ali Mobasheri
Name: Ali
Family Name: Mobasheri
POSITION IN 1988:
Religious Judge in Evin Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
President of Revolutionary Courts in Tehran
OTHER POSITIONS:
Top official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the religious judge based in Evin Prison, Mobasheri sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in Evin.
-2 He was a member of the top supervisory committee that under Intelligence Minister Rayshahri set down the procedures for the massacre before the executions began.
-3 Mobasheri personally issued hundreds of death sentences in Evin prison.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Mobasheri was a senior official in the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office after the 1979 revolution and in that position, he was actively involved in the arrest, torture and execution of thousands of political dissidents in Tehran. Deputy Chief of the Judiciary, Mullah Hadi Marvi, praised Mobasheri's record recently: "Mr. Mobasheri is an active and well-known figure in the judiciary. In the early years of the revolution ,he was working with Ayatollah Qoddusi to clamp down on the [Mojahedin]" (State television, April 2, 2000(.
-2 As the resident religious judge in Evin prison since 1981, he issued countless orders for torture and execution of prisoners.
-3 Mobasheri has personally issued decrees for the rape of women prisoners in Evin before their execution.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners in Evin who are prepared to testify on Mobasheri's crimes. Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Mobasheri's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Ismail Shoushtari
Name: Ismail
Family Name: Shoushtari
POSITION IN 1988:
Head of the State Prisons Organization, member of central "death committee"
CURRENT POSITION:
Minister of Justice since 1989
OTHER POSITIONS:
Two-term Majlis deputy
Senior official in Central Revolutionary Court
Member of the Council of Senior Judicial Officials
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the Head of the State Prisons Organization, Shoushtari played a key role in the overall coordination of the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa in prisons across the country.
-2 As an active member of the central "death committee" in Tehran, he was involved in the approval of 10,000 executions in Tehran in the second half of 1988. He was appointed as Justice Minister the following year in appreciation of his "services" to the regime during the massacre of political prisoners.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the Head of the State Prisons Organization for several years, Shoushtari was directly responsible for thousands of executions, systematic torture, and rape of women prisoners that went on in prisons under his authority.
-2 Since 1989, Shoushtari has been Justice Minister and a key member on the Council of Senior Judicial Officials. He therefore bears direct responsibility for all the crimes of the mullahs' judicial system throughout this period.
-3 Shoushtari has played a significant role in the past two years to cover up the case of "politically-motivated chain murders."
COMMENTS:
Many former political prisoners from Evin Prison are ready to testify on the crimes of Shoushtari and his role in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.
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Ali-Akbar Velayati
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Velayati
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1997
CURRENT POSITION:
Advisor on international affairs to the Supreme Leader
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the Majlis 1980-1981
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 After the first discussion among the top leaders of the regime about the massacre, Velayati was consulted about the international consequences of the carnage. He gave his full backing to the decision to massacre political prisoners.
-2 As Foreign Minister, he led the regime's attempts to deceive the international public opinion on the massacre and conceal the dimensions of the killings. He was instrumental in barring any fact-finding visit to Iran by NGOs and UN rapporteurs. Once the massacre ended, he led the attempts to whitewash these crimes by arranging "guided tours" of the empty prisons. His role in this respect is comparable to the crimes of Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In April 1997, a Berlin Court found Velayati guilty as a member of a secret four-man committee comprising the highest officials of the Islamic Republic who had to ratify all plans for the assassination of dissident Iranians abroad.
-2 During his tenure as Foreign Minister, Velayati placed all the facilities of the Foreign Ministry at the disposal of the Revolutionary Guards and the Intelligence Ministry to carry out terrorist attacks on Iranian dissidents and also foreign targets in different countries around the world.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Velayati: "In this country, those who resort to armed insurgency must be killed. That's the law. Prisoners who have been executed in recent months belonged to the People's Mojahedin. Other executed prisoners had confessed to murder of political figures" (Interview with Iran's Foreign Minister, the French weekly Le Point, February 5, 1989)
We decided to print information we had received months before the killings of prisoners in Ghezelhesar prison.
Due the fact that the present Iranian officials are in various ways connected to these killings and many other ones in the past, we decided to print the information.
We have printed the information as we ave recieved it from a source in Iran.
We would appreciate any comment
DL
The following pages contain preliminary information on 21individuals who have played an active role, in various capacities, in the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. The list, although not exhaustive, does identify the principal figures involved in the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa that ordered the extermination of political prisoners.
Ali Khamenei.
Name: Ali
Family Name: Khamenei
POSITION IN 1988: President
CURRENT POSITION: Vali-e Faqih (Supreme Leader)
OTHER POSITIONS:
1 Member, Revolutionary Council
2 President, two terms for a total of eight years
3 Supreme Leader since 1989
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
1 Khamenei was present in the meeting where Khomeini ordered the massacre .Khamenei strongly supported Khomeini's order and persistently defended the fatwa when international condemnation mounted.
2 As President and the highest ranking executive authority in 1988, Khamenei bears primary responsibility for the massacre. As President, he allowed unlimited governmental resources to be used in implementing Khomeini's order.
3 Khamenei has since been actively involved in preventing the exposure of the carnage. In order to protect the "interests of the system" after the 1988 massacre and keep the crimes against humanity from being exposed, he prevented the UNHRC Special Representative from visiting Iran (reported by the regime's radio on December 6, 1988).
OTHER CHARGES:
1 The terrorist operations outside Iran targeting hundreds of Iranian dissidents are initially approved by Khamenei and then submitted to the Supreme National Security Council for further review and subsequently put into implementation.
2 A German court referred to Khamenei's role in the killing of four Iranian dissidents by agents of the Intelligence Ministry in the Mykonos restaurant in Berlin .The court identified Khamenei as the highest authority for giving orders for the assassinations.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Khamenei acknowledged his responsibility and defended the massacre of political prisoners "With respect to executions, mass executions in Iran, ... have we banned capital punishment? No. We in the Islamic Republic have capital punishment for those who deserve to be executed. Do you think we should give sweets to a prisoner who has connections with the activities of the Monafeqin who attacked the Islamic Republic's borders? If his connection with that group is revealed, what should we do to him? He is condemned to execution and we will execute him. We do not joke with this" (Tehran radio, December 12, 1988.)
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Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani.
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Hashemi-Rafsanjani
POSITION IN 1988:
Speaker of Parliament, Acting Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
CURRENT POSITION:
Head of the State Exigencies Council ,Deputy Speaker of Assembly of Experts
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the Revolutionary Council, Minister of the Interior, President 1989 1997-
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Khomeini first raised the idea of his fatwa for the massacre at a meeting attended by his son Ahmad, Rafsanjani (the then Speaker of the Majlis and Acting Commander in Chief), Ali Khamenei (the then President), Abdolkarim Moussavi Ardebili (the then Chief Justice), Mohammad Moussavi Khoeiniha (the then Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor), and Mohammad Khatami (the then Director of Cultural Affairs at the General Command of the Armed Forces and Minister of Islamic Guidance).
-2 As Acting Commander in Chief and the regime's de facto Number Two after Khomeini, Rafsanjani vigorously defended the fatwa for the massacre. He stated" ;In the recent affair, the Mersad Operation, there were people inside Iran who wanted to engage in extensive sabotage. They were punished." (State radio, December 6,)1988
-3 After Khomeini issued the fatwa, Rafsanjani oversaw its enforcement as Khomeini's representative and reported to him on the progress of the massacre.
-4 As the Acting Commander in Chief, Rafsanjani ordered that all the military personnel who had deserted or surrendered themselves to the PMOI dissidents must be executed. The order was carried out.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In the summer of 1981, as large-scale execution of dissidents began, Rafsanjani demanded more ruthless repression. He said publicly: "At the outset of the Revolution we made a mistake: we did not kill 200 -PMOI-Mojahedin, now we have to kill them by the thousands."
-2 During his presidency, he ordered the execution of many dissidents abroad .One such example was the assassination of Professor. Kazem Rajavi in Geneva in April1990. The victim's brother, Massoud Rajavi, revealed Rafsanjani's crime based on the testimony of reputable witnesses, and the Swiss media published the details .Rafsanjani tried to sue one of the reporters, but a Geneva court ruled in favor of the journalist and rejected Rafsanjani's claim of libel.
-3 As chairman of the regime's Supreme National Security Council between 1989 and 1997, Rafsanjani personally endorsed plans for the assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad.
-4 A Berlin Court found Rafsanjani guilty as one of a group of the highest officials of the Islamic Republic who had ordered the assassination of four dissident Iranians in Mykonos restaurant in 1992.
-5 Throughout the year 2000, more evidence of Rafsanjani's role in a chain of politically motivated murders in Iran has surfaced.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Rafsanjani: "God's law prescribes four punishments for them (the Mojahedin.-1 )Kill them. 2-Hang them, 3-Cut off their hands and feet 4-Banish them. If we had killed two hundred of them right after the Revolution, their numbers would not have mounted this way. I repeat that according to the Quran, we are determined to destroy all [Mojahedin] who display enmity against Islam" ( Ettela'at, October 31, 1981).
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Mohammad Khatami.
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Khatami
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Islamic Guidance ,Director of Cultural Affairs at the General Command of the Armed Forces
CURRENT POSITION:
President since 1997
OTHER POSITIONS:
-1 Khomeini appointed him Supervisor of Kayhan (Iran's biggest-circulation daily(
-2 Member of the Majlis (parliament) from Ardekan
-3 Minister of Guidance from 1982 until 1992
-4 Advisor to the President and Director of the National Library 1992-1997
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Khatami participated in the session in which Khomeini, for the first time, discussed plans for the execution of all political prisoners.
-2 In governmental meetings, Khatami consistently opposed those worried about the social and international backlash of the massacre and strongly defended Khomeini's edict. As Minister of Guidance, he was responsible for suppressing any news of the massacre or criticism of it by various circles. As Ressalat and Iran News ,state-run dailies, recently reported: "This edict was issued and enforced when Mr.Khatami was Director of Cultural Affairs at the Armed Forces General Command and he resolutely defended His Holiness the Imam's decision."
-3 Abusing his powers as President, he has tried to cover up these mass murders ,especially his own role in them. The daily Gozaresh, dated April 9, 2000, reported: " Arya daily was closed down on the explicit, personal order of President Khatami, enforced immediately by the Ministry of Guidance, after it carried a story about the massacre of political prisoners in 1988."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 From the outset, he was a close advisor to Khomeini. He personally directed the censorship and repression of writers and artists for ten years as Minister of Guidance. Many of the most outstanding Iranian writers and artists were executed by firing squads during his term as Minister of Guidance.
-2 During the war (with Iraq), Khatami was responsible for mobilizing school children who died by the tens of thousands in senseless human-wave attacks across minefields. Khatami's role in this atrocity indeed amounts to a war crime.
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Abdulkarim Moussavi Ardebili
Name: Abdulkarim
Family Name: Moussavi Ardebili
POSITION IN 1988:
Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic, head of the Supreme Judicial Council
CURRENT POSITION:
One of the regime's official interpreters of canon law )a jurist worthy of being followed or "emulated" (,theological lecturer in city of Qom's seminaries
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the ruling clergy's Revolutionary Council. The first Chief Prosecutor under Khomeini
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 He appointed religious judges to the death committees throughout Iran.
-2 He conveyed Khomeini's fatwa for the massacre to religious judges and prosecutors throughout Iran and ordered them to join the death committees.
-3 He is among those who directly received Khomeini's fatwa for the massacre. He then made sure the judiciary would obey it. (Refer to a handwritten note by Khomeini's late son, Ahmad, on Khomeini's fatwa. Montazeri has published the document in his memoirs(
-4 Moussavi-Ardebili ordered speedy execution of political prisoners without any judicial formalities. On August 6, 1988, in an interview broadcast by the national radio network, he stated: "The Judiciary is under great pressure...There are questions about why these people are not executed. They must all be executed. We will no longer have trials or bother with the dossiers of the convicts."
OTHER CHARGES:
During his tenure as Chief Justice between 1981 and 1989, more than 90,000 executions took place. Ardebili was the ultimate judicial authority as Chief of the entire Judicial System
REMARKS:
Moussavi-Ardebili's own confession of some of these wholesale crimes against humanity is included.
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Mohammad Moussavi Khoeiniha
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Moussavi Khoeiniha
POSITION IN 1988:
Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor
CURRENT POSITION:
Leader of the Second Khordad Front (Supporters of Khatami); and member of the State Exigencies Council
OTHER POSITIONS:
Leader of the "Students Following the Line of the Imam" who held American diplomats in Tehran hostage for 444 days
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Khomeini personally assigned the task of implementing the fatwa for the massacre to Khoeiniha as Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor.
-2 In all "death committees" he had his own representatives who directly reported to him.
-3 He dismissed several local prosecutors who objected to the mass murders.
-4 From 1985 through 1988, as Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor, he was instrumental in the execution of thousands of people.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 He and his deputy prosecutors issued at least 100,000 arrest warrants for dissidents. Most of the detainees were subjected to savage torture. Huge numbers were executed.
-2 He appointed special representatives in the Ministry of Intelligence and its departments throughout Iran in order to expedite the arrest and torture of political dissidents.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Le Monde, March 1, 1989: "Imam Khomeini summoned Revolutionary Prosecutor Hojjatoleslam [Mohammad Moussavi] Khoeiniha and ordered him to treat all Mojahedin, in prison or elsewhere, as being at war with God and execute them summarily..."
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Ali Fallahian
First Name: Ali
Last Name: Fallahian
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
Member of Assembly of Experts
OTHER POSITIONS:
Religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Abadan
Religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Kermanshah
Minister of Intelligence
Special Prosecutor
Deputy Chief Revolutionary Prosecutor
Head of the Armed Forces Counter-intelligence Organization
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
In his position as deputy to Intelligence Minister Rayshahri, Fallahian played an active role in implementing Khomeini's orders. He appointed many of the Intelligence Ministry officials to the "death committees."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the religious judge in several cities including Abadan and Kermanshah, he issued the execution order and imprisonment of several hundred people.
-2 In 1982, as the Deputy Chief of the Revolutionary Court, he coordinated the activities of the Tehran Revolutionary Court and the Central Committee and Revolutionary Guards Intelligence which led to the violent crackdown of 1982. ( Abrar Newspaper August 20, 1989). As a result of the regime's Revolutionary Guards' attack on the houses of Mojahedin members and supporters in Tehran, at least 60 were killed. The list of their names is available.
-3 In his position as the religious judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, he was able to discover and destroy Mojahedin's organization in Kermanshah and Khorassan provinces. ( Abrar, August 20, 1989) Fallahian signed the execution orders of many Mojahedin members and supporters in these two provinces.
-4 In his position as the Deputy Intelligence Minster, he was responsible for the training of terrorist teams operating outside Iran.
-5 Judge Roland Chatelain, the Swiss magistrate in charge of investigations into the 1990 assassination of Dr. Kazem Rajavi, declared in July 1997 that Fallahian had masterminded Dr. Rajavi's assassination.
-6 A Berlin court which investigated the assassination of four Iranian dissidents declared after a four-year investigation that Fallahian was the mastermind and organizer of this crime. The court issued an international arrest warrant for Fallahian.
-7 Fallahian issued the order to assassinate Mr. Mohammad-Hossein Naghdi, the National Council of Resistance's Representative in Italy. This terrorist act was carried out by agents of the Intelligence Ministry in 1993.
-8 Fallahian issued orders to kidnap and kill Mr. Ali-Akbar Ghorbani, a member of the Mojahedin, in 1992 in Turkey. Ghorbani died under torture and his mutilated body was discovered a few months later.
-9 Fallahian issued orders to kidnap and assassinate Ms. Zahra Rajabi, a senior member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He directly supervised this operation which was carried out in February 1996. The initial plan was to kidnap Zahra Rajabi, but at the time due to the resistance of a Mojahedin supporter who accompanied her, the Intelligence Ministry's terrorists killed both of them. One of these terrorists who was arrested confessed to the Turkish authorities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
-10 The assassination of Shahpour Bakhtiar in Paris in August 1991 was ordered by Fallahian and carried out by agents of the Intelligence Ministry.
-11 Fallahian's Intelligence Ministry carried out 51 terrorist operations against the Mojahedin in Iraq. Ruhollah Hosseinian, a former Intelligence Minister Deputy, has confessed that Saeed Emami (Fallahian's deputy) led 100 operations against the Mojahedin outside Iran.
-12 Fallahian is one of the principal figures behind the murder of writers and intellectuals in Iran, known as the "chain political murders." He was the organizer of these assassinations. A list including the names of 111 of those assassinated is available.
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Mohammad Mohammadi Rayshahri
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Mohammadi Rayshahri
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
Representative of Supreme Leader Khamenei for the pilgrimage to Mecca.
OTHER POSITIONS:
Judge of the Special Court for the Clergy; judge in the Revolutionary Tribunal ;President of the Military Tribunals; founder of the Ministry of Intelligence.
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Appointment of the death committees, each consisting of three members, in Tehran and the provinces. These committees interviewed all prisoners and decided who should be executed. Montazeri reveals that the committees were dominated by the Intelligence Ministry representatives, who insisted on the highest number of executions.
-2 Rayshahri headed an oversight committee in Evin Prison. On the first day of the massacre, this committee drew up details for the execution of more than 10,000 political prisoners in Tehran on Khomeini's orders. Other members were Raissi, Nayyeri, Mortazavi, Mohseni-Ezhei, Mobasheri. and Pourmohammadi.
-3 The arbitrary detention of thousands of former political prisoners and young supporters of the Mojahedin and the re-arrest of thousands of released political prisoners. His ministry organized the execution by firing squads of these victims along with political prisoners.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Ordering the execution of dozens of people during the years 1979 through 1981 as a roving Revolutionary Judge in Gachsaran, Dezful, Behbahan, Khorramabad and Borujerd.
"-2 Purges" of thousands of dissident military personnel as chief judge and prosecutor of Military Tribunals from 1980 through 1984. He personally ordered the execution of several hundred servicemen during this period.
-3 Detention of many dissident clergymen and the execution of several of them.
-4 As the founder of the Intelligence Ministry, he was responsible for institutionalizing torture, kidnapping, murder, sexual assault on women detainees and an endless list of crimes committed by the Intelligence Ministry agents under his command.
REMARKS:
Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Rayshahri's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Morteza Eshraghi
Name: Morteza
Last Name: Eshraghi
POSITION IN 1988:
Tehran Prosecutor and chair of the death committee in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Justice of the Supreme Court
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 The Chief Prosecutor of Tehran and the head of the death committee in Tehran .He was appointed by Khomeini
-2 Along with other members of the death committee, Eshraghi is responsible for issuing execution verdicts for at least 10,000 political prisoners during the massacre.
REMARKS:
Many individuals who were in prison during the massacre and closely witnessed Eshraghi's role are ready to serve as witnesses and testify in an international court.
Similarly, several former members of the Intelligence Ministry and former employees of Evin prison are ready to serve as eyewitness and testify in an international court. One of these witnesses personally attended a meeting at which the procedures for implementing Khomeini's order were discussed.
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Jaafar Nayyeri
Name: Jaafar
Family Name: Nayyeri
POSITION IN 1988:
Presiding Judge of Revolutionary Tribunal in Tehran and Chairman of the central "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Religious judge and chairman of the central "death committee" in Tehran, personally appointed by Khomeini.
-2 Personally ordered the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners during the massacre.
-3 According to Montazeri, in a meeting on August 12, 1988, Nayyeri confessed to some of his crimes by stating: "We have so far executed 750 people in Tehran. We have separated two hundred others because of their views and will get rid of them as well."
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In the past two decades, as a religious judge, judge of the Revolutionary Tribunals and holder of other senior positions in the ruling clergy's courts, Nayyeri has ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners.
REMARKS:
-1 Many eyewitnesses, prisoners who witnessed the crimes, are ready to testify in any trial.
-2 Some former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are ready to testify about Nayyeri's crimes
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Mostafa Pourmohammadi
Name: Mostafa
Family Name: Pourmohammadi
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy Minister of Intelligence and member of the "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
National Security Advisor to the Supreme Leader
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Representative of the Ministry of Intelligence in the central "death committee "in Tehran
-2 The principal figure behind the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners in the massacre
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 For 13 years, he consistently held high positions in the Ministry of Intelligence .From 1989 through 1997, he was Deputy Minister of Intelligence under Fallahian .During this period, Pourmohammadi played a direct role in the arrest, torture and murder of thousands of political prisoners.
-2 He was one of the key masterminds of a chain of political assassinations in and outside Iran.
-3 Pourmohammadi played an instrumental role in dozens of murders involving dissidents and intellectuals in Iran throughout the 1990s. Among the victims was his own cousin, Mrs. Ashraf-os-Sadat Borghei, who was killed at her home in Qom in March 1996. Emadoddin Baghi, a journalist who was later jailed for his revelations, wrote in Fat'h newspaper on January 29, 2000: "The murderers of Mrs. Borghei put the house on fire to make it look like a fire and conceal their crime. Deputy Intelligence Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, who was the cousin of Mrs. Borghei, was at a house near the scene of the crime, together with Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian." Baghi later revealed a letter from Borghei's husband in which he accused Pourmohammadi of killing his wife. Mrs. Borghei was working for the Intelligence Ministry.
REMARKS:
-1 Many eyewitnesses, prisoners during these crimes against humanity, are willing to testify against Pourmohammadi in any court.
-2 In addition, a number of former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence and Evin Prison are willing to provide eye-witness testimony about Pourmohammadi's crimes against humanity.
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Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ezhei
Name: Gholam-Hossein
Family Name: Mohseni Ezhei
POSITION IN 1988:
Special representative of the Chief Justice in the Ministry of Intelligence
CURRENT POSITION:
President of the Special Court for the Clergy since 1998
OTHER POSITIONS:
Judiciary's representative in the Ministry of Intelligence until 1995
President of Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court
Deputy Revolutionary Prosecutor in Tehran
Religious judge of the State Employees Tribunal
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 Mohseni Ezhei was a member of the top supervisory committee that under Intelligence Minister Rayshahri met in Evin Prison to oversee the progress of the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa. It was this committee that set down the procedures for the massacre before the executions began.
-2 Mohseni Ezhei was present in Tehran's prisons throughout the period of the massacre and assisted the death committees as a religious judge and oversaw the executions.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the religious judge of the State Employees Tribunal, Mohseni Ezhei has issued thousands of verdicts for the dismissal, arrest and execution of dissident employees of the government
-2 As the special representative of the judiciary in the Intelligence Ministry ,Mohseni Ezhei "facilitated" the unlawful acts of the Intelligence Ministry's agents by giving them authorization for murder and harassment of the citizens. In that position, he issued thousands of arrest warrants and ordered the torture of detainees. He also issued death decrees for prisoners who were killed under torture.
-3 Mohseni Ezhei has issued death decrees for the murder of several dissident intellectuals and writers. Newspapers in Iran revealed that Pirouz Davani, a writer ,was abducted and killed by Intelligence Ministry agents on a secret decree issued by Mohseni.
REMARKS:
Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Mohseni Ezhei's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani
First Name: Mohammad
Last Name: Mohammadi Gilani
POSITION IN 1988:
Secretary of the Guardian Council
CURRENT POSITION:
Chief of the Supreme Court
OTHER POSITIONS:
Chief of Tehran's Revolutionary Court Member of the Guardian Council
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
As the most influential religious judge in the regime, Gilani played an active role in the massacre of 1988 by overseeing the work of the death committees.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As Chief of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, he issued numerous death sentences. Several thousand individuals have been tried by him summarily and sentenced to death. The courts lasted for only a few minutes and the defendants were never given a chance to defend themselves or appeal the court's verdict.
-2 He ordered the execution of two of his own children, who were members of the Mojahedin.
-3 Gilani has openly and repeatedly supported torture, public executions, etc.
-4 In his position as the president of the Supreme Court, he has upheld thousands of death sentences passed by courts and religious judges across the country.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Mohammadi Gilani, then-Religious Judge of Tehran: "We must use Ta'azir )torture) on these [Mojahedin] to make them tell us where they have hidden their weapons. According to Islam, even if they die under torture, no one is held accountable. This is the precise decree of the Imam" (Ettela'at, October 30, 1981(.
Mohammadi Gilani: "Those who are arrested during armed street demonstrations can be lined up against a wall and shot on the spot. The wounded can also be finished off on the spot. From the religious point of view, there is no need to bring such people to court, because they have waged war on God. Their sentence is clear…." ( Kayhan, September 20, 1981)
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Ali Younessi
First Name: Ali
Last Name: Younessi
POSITION IN 1988:
First deputy to the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces, religious judge
CURRENT POSITION:
Minister of Intelligence since 1999
OTHER POSITIONS:
Religious Judge of Qom
Chief of Tehran Revolutionary Court
Chief of the Army Revolutionary Court, religious judge of the armed forces
Khomeini's representative for rebuilding the Army Counter-intelligence Organization
General Prosecutor of Tehran
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 As the religious judge, he was directly involved in the prosecution and execution of political prisoners
-2 In his position as chief of the 2nd Branch of the Revolutionary Court and a religious judge, he had an active role in the arrest of dissident servicemen, ordering the execution of many of them.
-4 In 1986, he was Khomeini's representative for rebuilding the Army's Counterintelligence Organization and in 1988, he was the representative of the Acting Commander of Chief for intelligence and security issues. In this position, he for the second time proceeded to purge the military personnel and to arrest and execute dissident servicemen.
-5 From 1988 to 1993, he was Tehran's General Prosecutor. In this capacity, he was personally responsible for the execution of many prisoners.
-6 From 1993 until 1999, he was Chief of the Armed Forces' Judicial Organization .In this position, he issued death sentences for several hundred servicemen opposing the regime and supporting the Mojahedin
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Ali-Akbar Mohtashami
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Mohtashami
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of the Interior
CURRENT POSITION:
Majlis deputy, leader of Khatami's faction in the Majlis
OTHER POSITIONS:
Ambassador to Syria
Responsible for the regime's terrorist activities abroad in the 1980s
Presidential counselor (under Khatami(
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As Interior Minister, he was instrumental in carrying out the large-scale arrest of former political prisoners and Mojahedin sympathizers across the country, because Khomeini's fatwa required that in addition to those Mojahedin supporters in jail ,others at large also be caught and executed..
-2 Mohtashami vigorously defended the massacre and suppressed all internal dissent. The Komiteh Revolutionary Guards under his command were responsible for suppression and intimidation of families of victims..
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the acting commander in chief of the internal security forces (Komiteh, (Mohtashami was responsible in the 1980s for the arrest and torture and murder of numerous political activists and dissidents across the country .Mohtashami's role in the foreign terrorist operations of the mullahs' regime throughout the 1980s is well documented.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Mohtashami: "There are crimes which must be punished by execution. It is natural that the punishment for the Mojahedin is execution. All the rumors about mass executions is only about those who were executed in Mersad operation... But to put this issue to rest, I must say that all those who were arrested and all those who joined [the Mojahedin] have been executed" (An interview with Iran's Interior Minister, Al-Mostaqbal daily, Lebanon, February 24, 1989(.
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Ebrahim Raissi
Name: Ebrahim
Last Name: Raissi
POSITION IN 1988:
Deputy to the Tehran Prosecutor and influential member of "death committee" in Tehran
CURRENT POSITION:
Head of the State Inspectorate Office
OTHER POSITIONS:
President of Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court for Political Groups
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN IN 1988:
-1 Raissi was one of the most influential members of the "death committee" in Tehran and along with its other members was responsible for the execution of at least 10,000 political prisoners in Tehran
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the President of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for Political Groups, Raissi has been involved in the arrest, torture, and execution of members and supporters of political groups, especially the Mojahedin
REMARKS:
Many individuals who were in prison during the massacre and closely witnessed Raissi's role are ready to serve as witnesses and testify in an international court. Similarly, many former members of the Intelligence Ministry and former employees of Evin prison are ready to serve as eyewitnesses and testify in an international court.
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Mohammad Moghisse'i (aka Naserian)
Name: Mohammad
Family Name: Moghisse'i (aka Naserian)
POSITION IN 1988:
Governor of Gohardasht Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
Senior official in the judiciary
OTHER POSITIONS:
Top official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Tehran Interrogator in Evin Prison's Branch 3
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the governor of Gohardasht Prison, Moghisse'i sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in that prison.
-2 He personally hanged numerous prisoners in Gohardasht during the massacre.
-3 In the exceptional cases that other members of the "death committee" wanted to show some leniency, Moghisse'i always prevented them and had the prisoner executed.
-4 Under his direction, thousands of prisoners in Gohardasht were executed during the massacre and the few survivors were transferred to Evin.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Moghisse'i has been described by many former prisoners as the most ruthless among all the savage torturers and executioners in Khomeini's prisons. This ruthlessness allowed him to rise quickly in the mullahs' hierarchy and become the governor of a major prison by 1987.
-2 As the governor of Gohardasht, he introduced the most savage types of torture to the prison. Hundreds of prisoners lost their mental balance under these tortures and hundreds more died under torture.
-3 He himself raped numerous women prisoners and encouraged this practice during his term as governor.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners from Gohardasht who are prepared to testify on Moghisse'i's crimes.
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Seyyed Hossein Mortazavi
Name: Seyyed Hossein
Family Name: Mortazavi
POSITION IN 1988:
Governor of Evin Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
Senior official in the judiciary
OTHER POSITIONS:
Candidate for Majlis from the city of Zanjan
Official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office
Interrogator in Evin Prison
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the governor of Evin Prison, Mortazavi sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in that prison.
-2 He executed numerous prisoners in Evin during the massacre.
-3 Thousands of prisoners in Evin were executed during the massacre under Mortazavi's personal supervision
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Mortazavi was one of the most ruthless torturers in Evin and was personally responsible for killing many prisoners under torture.
-2 As the governor of Evin, he ordered the arbitrary execution of numerous prisoners.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners from Evin who are prepared to testify on Mortazavi's crimes. There are also several former members of the Intelligence Ministry who have indicated their readiness to testify about Mortazavi's crimes.
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Ali Mobasheri
Name: Ali
Family Name: Mobasheri
POSITION IN 1988:
Religious Judge in Evin Prison
CURRENT POSITION:
President of Revolutionary Courts in Tehran
OTHER POSITIONS:
Top official in Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the religious judge based in Evin Prison, Mobasheri sat on the "death committee" during its sessions in Evin.
-2 He was a member of the top supervisory committee that under Intelligence Minister Rayshahri set down the procedures for the massacre before the executions began.
-3 Mobasheri personally issued hundreds of death sentences in Evin prison.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 Mobasheri was a senior official in the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office after the 1979 revolution and in that position, he was actively involved in the arrest, torture and execution of thousands of political dissidents in Tehran. Deputy Chief of the Judiciary, Mullah Hadi Marvi, praised Mobasheri's record recently: "Mr. Mobasheri is an active and well-known figure in the judiciary. In the early years of the revolution ,he was working with Ayatollah Qoddusi to clamp down on the [Mojahedin]" (State television, April 2, 2000(.
-2 As the resident religious judge in Evin prison since 1981, he issued countless orders for torture and execution of prisoners.
-3 Mobasheri has personally issued decrees for the rape of women prisoners in Evin before their execution.
REMARKS:
There are hundreds of former prisoners in Evin who are prepared to testify on Mobasheri's crimes. Several former personnel of the Ministry of Intelligence are ready to give eyewitness testimony about Mobasheri's crimes against humanity in any trial.
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Ismail Shoushtari
Name: Ismail
Family Name: Shoushtari
POSITION IN 1988:
Head of the State Prisons Organization, member of central "death committee"
CURRENT POSITION:
Minister of Justice since 1989
OTHER POSITIONS:
Two-term Majlis deputy
Senior official in Central Revolutionary Court
Member of the Council of Senior Judicial Officials
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 As the Head of the State Prisons Organization, Shoushtari played a key role in the overall coordination of the implementation of Khomeini's fatwa in prisons across the country.
-2 As an active member of the central "death committee" in Tehran, he was involved in the approval of 10,000 executions in Tehran in the second half of 1988. He was appointed as Justice Minister the following year in appreciation of his "services" to the regime during the massacre of political prisoners.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 As the Head of the State Prisons Organization for several years, Shoushtari was directly responsible for thousands of executions, systematic torture, and rape of women prisoners that went on in prisons under his authority.
-2 Since 1989, Shoushtari has been Justice Minister and a key member on the Council of Senior Judicial Officials. He therefore bears direct responsibility for all the crimes of the mullahs' judicial system throughout this period.
-3 Shoushtari has played a significant role in the past two years to cover up the case of "politically-motivated chain murders."
COMMENTS:
Many former political prisoners from Evin Prison are ready to testify on the crimes of Shoushtari and his role in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988.
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Ali-Akbar Velayati
Name: Ali-Akbar
Family Name: Velayati
POSITION IN 1988:
Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1997
CURRENT POSITION:
Advisor on international affairs to the Supreme Leader
OTHER POSITIONS:
Member of the Majlis 1980-1981
CHARGES RELATED TO THE MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN 1988:
-1 After the first discussion among the top leaders of the regime about the massacre, Velayati was consulted about the international consequences of the carnage. He gave his full backing to the decision to massacre political prisoners.
-2 As Foreign Minister, he led the regime's attempts to deceive the international public opinion on the massacre and conceal the dimensions of the killings. He was instrumental in barring any fact-finding visit to Iran by NGOs and UN rapporteurs. Once the massacre ended, he led the attempts to whitewash these crimes by arranging "guided tours" of the empty prisons. His role in this respect is comparable to the crimes of Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany.
OTHER CHARGES:
-1 In April 1997, a Berlin Court found Velayati guilty as a member of a secret four-man committee comprising the highest officials of the Islamic Republic who had to ratify all plans for the assassination of dissident Iranians abroad.
-2 During his tenure as Foreign Minister, Velayati placed all the facilities of the Foreign Ministry at the disposal of the Revolutionary Guards and the Intelligence Ministry to carry out terrorist attacks on Iranian dissidents and also foreign targets in different countries around the world.
PUBLIC STATEMENTS:
Velayati: "In this country, those who resort to armed insurgency must be killed. That's the law. Prisoners who have been executed in recent months belonged to the People's Mojahedin. Other executed prisoners had confessed to murder of political figures" (Interview with Iran's Foreign Minister, the French weekly Le Point, February 5, 1989)
