MARYAM RAJAVI :UNITED NATION SHOULD OPEN THE DOSSIER OF 1988 MASSACRE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS IN IRAN

BY Arash Nikzad

As a result of the efforts of thousands of the human right activist around the world, the movement calling for justice for the victims of the massacre in Iran has expanded since last year. Today, even youths born after the massacre have risen up to call for justice for the victims.The people of Iran want to end the impunity of those in charge of the massacre and hold them accountable before the international court. This has turned into the Iranian people’s most important political demand from the ruling mullahs.

The campaign calling for justice obtained new information about the slaughter, including a large number of names of the victims, as well as the locations of numerous mass graves which the mullahs had previously concealed. The people of Iran demand that the perpetrators of the massacre are held accountable and their impunity ended.

The Justice seeking movement in Iran managed to corner the mullahs.

Khamenei intended to put a member of the 1988 massacre’s Death Commission in the office of president, but the nationwide campaign calling for justice foiled his plans.

Nevertheless, the mullahs from either faction cannot and do not want to distance themselves from the massacre.

Over the past four years, the mullahs’ president Hassan Rouhani had appointed Mostafa Pour Mohammad, one of the key officials in charge of the 1988 massacre, as Minister of Justice. He has now appointed a new Justice Minister for his second term, but the new minister, too, is another one of the perpetrators of the massacre, by the name of Avaii who has been already designated as a violator of human rights by the European Union.

Rouhani’s cabinet includes the largest number of officials from the regime’s security and intelligence agencies. Several of the most senior officials of the Intelligence Ministry are among his cabinet ministers.

We have urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up an independent committee to investigate the 1988 massacre.

The UN Security Council must set up a special tribunal or refer the issue to the International Criminal Court to arrange for the prosecution of the leaders of the Iranian regime.

I urge all governments to make their relations and trade with the religious fascism ruling Iran contingent on end to executions and torture.

And I call on all democrats and advocates of human rights in France and the world to join the Iranian Resistance to help it advance its cause by calling for an independent investigation to bring justice to the officials in charge of the 1988 massacre.