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 […]
Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Read More »
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
Mohammad Mohammadi Reyshahri Read More »
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
Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi Read More »
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
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
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
Hossein-Ali Nayyeri Read More »
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,
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei Read More »
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
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.
Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s chief of staff. Present post and occupation: Deceased.
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
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,
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.
Mohammad Esmail Shushtari Read More »
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.
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
Seyyed Abdulkarim Mousavi Ardabili Read More »
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
Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha Read More »
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
Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi Bojnourdi Read More »
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
Position during 1988 massacre: Birjand Prosecutor; member of Birjand “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Deputy Custodian of Astan Quds Razavi conglomerate (Deputy of Ebrahim Raisi) As prosecutor, he was one of the key people in the “Death Commission” in Birjand during the 1988 mass executions. He has been an official of the regime’s judicial
Seyyed Morteza Bakhtiari Read More »
Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Head of Prison in Isfahan; member of Isfahan “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Senior advisor to the head of the Prisons Organisation He is alleged to have had an active role in the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988 in the city of Isfahan. In 2011,
Mohammad Ali Zanjirei Read More »
Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge in Hamedan and western border areas of Iran; member of Hamedan “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Head of the high court for determining judges’ competence He was dispatched to Iran’s western border area upon the order of Khomeini at the request of the then president
Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Friday Prayers Leader; member of Babolsar “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Member of Assembly of Experts and Khamenei’s representative in Zahedan As Friday prayers leader he allegedly was actively engaged in the 1988 mass executions. The judicial system in Babolsar was operating under his supervision. He has
Abbas-Ali Soleimani Read More »
Position at the time of 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge; member of Kermanshah “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Head of religious seminary During the 1988 mass executions he acted as the Shari’a Judge and had allegedly issued the execution orders in accordance with Khomeini’s decree.
Position during 1988 massacre: Head of the IRGC Prison; member of Mashhad “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Deceased (1999) He was the prison’s director during the 1988 mass executions. He was involved in running various prisons of Khorasan since the beginning of the 1979 revolution and had an active role in the repression of
Hassan Zarif-Jalali Read More »
Position during 1988 massacre: Head of IRGC Prison in Fuman; member of Gilan Province “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Managing director of the Atieh Damavand Investment Company Allegedly, he was part of the “Death Commission” during the 1988 mass executions. He had a lot of influence on the “Death Commission”. He is a former
Nasser Ashuri Qal’e Roudkhan Read More »
Position during 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge; member of “Death Commissions” in Lahijan and Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh Present post and occupation: Member of the Assembly of Experts; representative of the Supreme Leader in Gilan Province; Friday prayers Imam of Rasht Zeinolabedin Qorbani Lahiji was the Shari’a judge and the Friday prayers Imam in Lahijan in 1988. From the
Zeinolabedin Qorbani Lahiji Read More »
Position during 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge; member of Rasht “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Runs a law firm At the time of the mass executions, he was the Shari’a Judge of Rasht and a top member of the “Death Commission” in that city. With the help of another mullah by the name of Heydari
Allah-Verdi Moqaddasi-Far Read More »
Position in 1988 massacre: Friday prayers leader; member of Ardabil “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Deceased (2001) He gave advice for executions to Khomeini’s representative in the city of Ardabil (Shari’a judge called Tabatabai). He was later Friday prayers leader and Khamenei’s representative until his death. It is alleged that he had moral authority
Mirza Biuk Khalilzadeh Moravej Read More »
Position in 1988 massacre: Shari’a Judge; member of Ardabil “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Head of 2nd branch of Administrative Court As a Shari’a judge, he was responsible for the execution of dozens of PMOI-affiliated prisoners. Allegations pointed out that no prisoner that came under his jurisdiction survived. Other allegations indicated that at least
Mir-Naghi Ghazipour (Ghazi Tabatabai) Read More »
Position in 1988 massacre: Director of Tabriz Prison; member of the Tabriz “Death Commission” Present post and occupation: Secretary of the Drug Coordination Council of East Azerbaijan After Khomeini’s fatwa ordering the mass executions, he allegedly turned the prison carpentry workshop, originally launched for the prison income generating activities, into an execution chamber. Eyewitness accounts
Mohammad Ali Nosrati Zaglujeh Read More »
