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Moratorium on the use of the death penalty – UNGA Resolution adopted on 18 December 2007

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2007 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/62/439/Add.2)] 62/149.    Moratorium on the use of the death penalty The General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and […]

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Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 44/128 of 15 December 1989 The States Parties to the present Protocol, Believing that abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressive development

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Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 9 The States Parties to the present Protocol, Considering that in order further to achieve the purposes of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

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Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

UN Convention against Torture

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984 entry into force 26 June 1987, in accordance with article 27 (1) The States Parties to this Convention, Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed

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Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Preamble Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of

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Convention and protocol relating to the status of refugees (UNHCR)

Convention and Protocol Relating To The Status of Refugees Text of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees Text of the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees Resolution 2198 (XXI) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with an introductory note by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

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Bam city religious judge, Alameh, responding to a question on the PMOI properties

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate 24 July 1980 Honorable President of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Bam Respectfully, we would like to bring to your attention that on Wednesday, 24 July 1980, after the evening prayers, a group of hooligans attacked the Abuzar bookstore and stationary store in Buali Street, opposite

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ali-akbar-hashemi-rafsanjani

Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Speaker of the Majlis (Parliament) and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces, the de facto number two official of the regime after Khomeini. Present post and occupation: Chairman of the State Expediency Council; member of the Assembly of Experts (the highest decision-making body of the regime, tasked with

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Montazeri letter to Death Commission

Montazeri’s letter addressed to members of the Death Commission in Tehran

Iran’s former Deputy Supreme Leader Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was shocked by the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988, expressed his dismay in a letter to members of the ‘Death Commission’ in Tehran on August 15, 1988. While criticizing members of the Commission, he clearly stated that their conducts

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Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Intelligence Minister Present post and occupation: Member of Assembly of Experts; Head of Shah Abdul-Azim Endowment A.K.A. Mohammad Mohammadi-Nik. All representatives of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) in the ‘death commissions’ were appointed by him. Following the 1979 revolution he was the head of Army Revolutionary Court, and was

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Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Representative of Intelligence Ministry in the “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: Advisor to Chief of the Judiciary; Iran’s Minister of Justice until August 2017 All those executed in Tehran and Karaj were sentenced to death under his ruling. In 2005, Human Rights Watch accused him

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Ali Fallahian

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Deputy Intelligence Minister Present post and occupation: Member of State Expediency Council Before 1985 he was a religious judge in Khuzistan courts and was directly involved in killings and murders. He served as Intelligence Minister from 1989 to 1997. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts from 2007 until

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Ebrahim Raisi

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Tehran’s Deputy Prosecutor; member of “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: President of the Islamic Republic of Iran A.K.A. Seyyed Ebrahim Rais al-Sadati (A.K.A. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, Ibrahim Raeessi and Ebrahim Raeesi) [UPDATED: July 2022] At the time of the 1988 mass executions, he headed the

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Hossein-Ali Nayyeri

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Shari’a judge; and head of the “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: Head of the Supreme Disciplinary Court for Judges Nayyeri was appointed as the Head of the “Death Commission” in Tehran upon the order of Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah

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Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei

Province: TehranCity: Tehran Position at the time of 1988 massacre: The Judiciary’s representative in the Intelligence Ministry Present post and occupation: Judiciary Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran He was Attorney General from 2009 to 2014. He was Intelligence Minister of Iran from 2005 until 2009. While he was Intelligence Minister during the 2009 election,

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Majid Ansari

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of the state Prisons’ Organization  Present post and occupation: Vice President of Iran for Legal Affairs; member of the State Expediency Council

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Ali Khamenei

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: President and a key decision-maker. Present post and occupation: Supreme Leader Khamenei and Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani worked alongside Khomeini in initiating the massacre. Khomeini’s former heir Hossein-Ali Montazeri said in a letter that Khomeini sought counsel on his dangerous decisions from these two individuals alone.

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Ali Razini

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces; member of “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: Head of the 41st Branch of the Supreme Court Khomeini’s assigned him on 24 July 1988 to “set up special courts to deal with war offences in all war

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Morteza Moqtadaee

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Member and spokesperson of the Supreme Judicial Council Present post and occupation: Head of Qom Seminary, member of Assembly of Experts He started his activities within the Judiciary since March 1979 when he was appointed as a judge in revolutionary courts and was involved in operating courts in Tehran,

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Mohammad Esmail Shushtari

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of the state Prisons Organization; member of the “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: Retired He served as Iran’s Minister of Justice for 16 years under Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami. He was head of the Presidency’s Inspectorate Office until August 2016.

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Morteza Eshraqi

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Tehran’s Prosecutor; member of “Death Commission” in Tehran Present post and occupation: Lawyer practicing in Tehran The task of issuing death sentences in Tehran was entrusted to him directly by Khomeini. Death sentences for thousands of prisoners affiliated with the PMOI and other opponents were signed by him.

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Seyyed Abdulkarim Mousavi Ardabili

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of Supreme Judicial Council Present post and occupation: Head of Mofid Seminary and a religious authority He was first to receive Khomeini’s death decree and he was fully aware of the 1988 massacre. He was the highest judicial authority during the massacre of of some 30,000 political

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mousavi-khoeiniha-mohammad Iran 1988 Massacre

Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Member of Supreme Judicial Council, Attorney-General Present post and occupation: Member of Association of Combatant Clerics During the US Embassy occupation in Tehran, he was Khomeini’s representative among “Muslim Students following the Line of Imam.” In 1985, he was appointed as the country’s Attorney-General by Khomeini and remained

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mousavi-bojnourdi-seyyed-mohammad Iran 1988 Massacre

Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi Bojnourdi

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Member of the Supreme Judicial Council Present post and occupation: Member of Association of Combatant Clergy He started working in Khomeini’s office in a section responsible for answering questions in 1979. In 1981 he launched the Supreme Court for Judges upon Khomeini’s order. He was a member of Supreme Judicial

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mobasheri-ali Iran 1988 Massacre

Ali Mobasheri

Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge, also acting as substitute to Hossein-Ali Nayyeri in the “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Supreme Court judge He joined the Judiciary in 1981 and was responsible for murdering the regime’s opponents in Evin Prison. He reportedly described Assadollah Lajevardi, the infamous governor of Evin Prison

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