Statement on the 34th Anniversary of the Killing of Political Prisoners
August 24, 2022
The massacre of the summer of 1988 was a national disaster; therefore, it is necessary to confront it on a national scale. So far, political parties and organizations, democratic institutions and associations, human rights activists and all those who respect human dignity, and in front of all these, the families of the victims, have launched a massive struggle and campaign. Due to the efforts of these groups, the litigation matter has taken positive steps forward and has placed a hope for reaching the truth in the hearts of litigants. But these efforts should be more closely linked, and the activities should be more coordinated.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
Thirty-four years have passed since the brutal massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, when the regime kept the news of the massacre with absolute silence, until today, when the disgraceful voice of this regime has been heard. In the early years of the massacre, the Islamic regime thought that it could silence a crime of this magnitude. But the wheel of history does not turn according to the will of autocratic leaders. On the other side of the will of the regime, there are people who make history and since the knife of slaughter has been targeting their bodies and souls and their children's lives, they cannot help but cry out the pain of this wound. From the very first days, these people stood up for litigation and with the sacred anger that is born of pure and tender human feelings, they did not let the cloud of forgetfulness cast a shadow over this crime. The families of the victims, political parties and organizations, democratic institutions, and human rights, and in a word, the plaintiffs, made a symbol and a flag from "Khavaran", the burial place of the victims, and raised it with all their strength. The regime tried many times to shut down this symbol of litigation in many ways. But with every attack of dictators on "Khavaran", the flag of litigation has been raised more and more before the eyes of the people of Iran and the world.
During these years, "Khavaran" has gone through different periods. That initial silence and denial gradually gave way to justification and deception. But this deception also turned into its opposite, and the criminals, in a brazen turn, have shamelessly defended that killing these days. If yesterday they entrusted the Ministry of Justice to one of the violent and riotous members of the death squad, today they "appoint" another murderer from the same death squad to the presidential seat to defend that death order. There is no doubt that Khomeini was responsible for the killing of political prisoners. The killing was ordered by his command and was carried out by the main officials of the regime who hold key positions. The current leader of the regime, Ali Khamenei, is also one of the officials who has always appeared in line to defend the massacre. But in the massacre of 1988, only the high-ranking officials of the system and the decision makers and members of the death panel are not guilty. Anyone in any rank and position who remained silent in front of this unprecedented crime and did not reveal their information about the killing of political prisoners is a criminal and will be brought to justice.
In these years, the regime put pressure on the family and civil and political activists and suppressed them. Many times, the families and relatives of the victims were assaulted, arrested, and imprisoned. It is forbidden to enter “Khavaran,” and this symbol of litigation was destroyed, and the gravestones were broken. Not only “Khavaranis,” even sympathizing with “Khavaran” was considered an unforgivable crime to the extent that Jafar (Shahin) Eghdami was arrested ten years ago for participating in the anniversary ceremony of the killing of political prisoners in “Khavaran” and for taking pictures of the repressive security forces. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he was released a few days ago with white hair but with pride.
If the regime has taken such a dark and bloody path and has tried to open its way to hell by silencing the voice of "Khavaran", but “Khavaran” and the “Khavaranis” have not stopped resisting, and the name of “Khavaran” and the hidden Infatuated Souls in it are symbols of litigation and turned it into a scandalous document and a thorn in the eyes of the wicked rulers. Today, the majority of Iranian people are familiar with the story of Khavaran and the Infatuated Souls sleeping in it. They know that this place is the product of the extreme savagery of arrogant rulers whose brains are frozen in centuries ago. The regime's efforts to destroy it are no longer fruitful for the ruling executioners. If “Khavaran” is completely destroyed with plows and bulldozers and its appearance is hidden from view, the issue of “Khavaran” is so engraved in the collective memory of the Iranian people that it will remain as a part of the country's history. The historical importance of "Khavaran" is that today it has become an open case that will not be closed until the truth is discovered and the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice. The arrest and trial of Hamid Nouri in Sweden, one of the agents and underlings of the Islamic regime who played a role in the massacre of 1988 and his sentence to life imprisonment, took place in connection with this open case. This sentence was engraved on the forehead of the regime and caused even more scandal in the eyes of the people of Iran and the world. Nouri's trial has revived the hope of prosecution and trial of other criminals who participated in the massacre of 1988.
For more than forty years, the regime has been busy with conspiracy and committing crimes. But among the crimes of the Islamic Republic, the odium of killing political prisoners inside the prisons in 1988 was more disgusting and its scope was bloodier. This massacre is both in terms of numbers, which killed several thousand people, and in terms of the geographical extent, which occurred throughout the country, and in terms of its colorful composition, which is from all ethnic groups and nationalities, from Lor, Kurds and Baloch to Azeri, Arab and Fars, it was a unique disaster. In the full of discrimination regime of the Islamic Republic, this criminal act is perhaps the only act that was committed without discrimination in relation to the people of Iran.
The massacre of the summer of 1988 was a national disaster; therefore, it is necessary to confront it on a national scale. So far, political parties and organizations, democratic institutions and associations, human rights activists and all those who respect human dignity, and in front of all these, the families of the victims, have launched a massive struggle and campaign. Due to the efforts of these groups, the litigation matter has taken positive steps forward and has placed a hope for reaching the truth in the hearts of litigants. But these efforts should be more closely linked, and the activities should be more coordinated. It is important to respect culture of cooperation among the litigants.
The Left Party of Iran (People's Fadaian) honors the memory of the infatuated souls who rebelled against injustice on the path to justice and fell to the ground with the death scythe of the ruling dictators, and salute all those who strive and fight for the establishment of democracy, freedom, and social justice. We also honor the memory of the martyrs who bravely fell to the ground in front of the death squads, and once again emphasize our common commitment to freedom from the grip of tyranny and achieve equality. We respectfully bow down to the families of the victims of the freedom path and try our best to keep the flag of the struggle for the truth raised in the ranks of the petitioners. We ask all our comrades and friends of the party to participate in the 34th anniversary of the massacre of political prisoners in the forms of movements, projects and ceremonies that are held with the aim of strengthening the petition movement and erasing the forgetfulness of the massacre of the eighties.
Political-Executive Board of the Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
August 24, 2022
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