Iran

Amnesty International appeals for release of Maryam Akbari Monfared, relative of victims 1988 massacre

Amnesty International in an Urgent Action appeal on 27 August 2021 called for the immediate release of Maryam Akbari Monfared, an Iranian prisoner of conscience, held in custody for more than 12 years for her open letters condemning the Iranian authorities’ human rights violations and seeking truth and justice for her siblings who were forcibly …

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Amnesty International: Ebrahim Raisi must be investigated for crimes against humanity

Amnesty International in a statement on 19 June 2021 announced that ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who was declared Iran’s next president, should be investigated for alleged crimes against humanity during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. “That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, …

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July 2021: In report to UN General Assembly, Special Rapporteur on Iran decries destruction of evidence of 1988 massacre

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Professor Javaid Rehman, raised concern regarding the destruction of evidence of extrajudicial executions of political dissidents in 1988 in his report of 16 July 2021 to the General Assembly on the Situation of human rights in the Islamic …

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UNSG report to 47th session of Human Rights Council highlights ongoing violations related to Iran’s 1988 massacre

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has highlighted ongoing human rights abuses related to the 1988 massacre in his report of 14 May 2021 on the Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the 47th session of the Human Rights Council. Paragraph 34 of the report (A/HRC/47/22) mentions the case of …

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The National: Former UN officials call for inquiry into 1988 massacres

More than 40 former United Nations officials including an ex-human rights chief have called for an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of thousands of prisoners in Iranian jails, The National reported on 5 May 2021. The following is the full text of The National’s coverage of the open letter to the UN co-signed by …

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CNS News: 152 Former U.N. Officials, Experts Call for Commission to Investigate 1988 Massacre

More than 150 former United Nations officials, human rights activists, and legal experts sent an open letter to the High Commissioner for Human Rights requesting that a “Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 mass extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances” in Iran be established, CNS News reported on 5 May 2021. The following is the full …

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Photo of new graves over mass grave in Khavaran, Iran

JVMI urges UN intervention to preserve evidence of 1988 massacre at khavaran mass grave in iran

JVMI has received new credible information that the authorities in Iran are building over the Khavaran mass grave, south of Tehran, where thousands of victims of the 1988 extrajudicial executions are believed to be buried. Last week, the Bahá’í International Community announced that the Iranian authorities had banned the Baha’is of Tehran from burying their …

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Iranian political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared

Political Prisoner Seeking Justice Over Iran’s 1988 Massacre Is Exiled To Semnan

The Iranian Judiciary on 10 March 2021 forcibly transferred political prisoner Maryam Akbari Monfared from Evin Prison in the capital Tehran to a prison more than 200 kilometres away in Semnan in an attempt to silence her calls for justice over the 1988 massacre. Ms. Akbari Monfared, whose siblings were among the victims of the …

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UN Geneva

JVMI Leads Successful Advocacy at Human Rights Council for UN Probe into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) led a successful advocacy project at the 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council throughout February-March 2021. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited JVMI’s ability to conduct face-to-face meetings as in previous years, we were able to promote the call …

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U.S. Congress Resolution Seeks UN Inquiry into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

More than a third of Members of the United States House of Representatives have co-sponsored a bi-partisan resolution on Iran referencing the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling for the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the extrajudicial killings. House Resolution 118 was initially introduced on February 11, 2021 with 113 original co-sponsors. Support …

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Mohammad-Hossein-Saffar-Harrandi

Top Iranian Official Defends 1988 Massacre of Political Prisoners in Iran – February 2021

Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, a member of Iran’s powerful Expediency Discernment Council, defended the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in an interview with Iranian state television on 23 February 2021. He told Channel 3’s Bedouneh Tavaqof program that the victims deserved to be killed. Saffar Harandi, a retired Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) General, is a former Islamic …

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JVMI Joins 20 NGOs at UN Human Rights Council Calling for Commission of Inquiry Into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Today, 25 February 2021, a joint written statement by 20 NGOs, including Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI), was circulated at the Human Rights Council, calling for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Link to original source: …

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Michelle Bachelet Urged To Launch UN Commission of Inquiry Into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) called on the United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to launch a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran on the eve of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. At a virtual press …

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Khamenei Defends Fatwa Ordering 1988 Massacre in Iran

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has published a book in which he defends the order given by his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leading to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. Khamenei’s remarks are included in a book called the ‘Leader’s Narrative’ (“Revayate Rahbari”), published in July 2019 by the Institute for Preserving …

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No Remorse. Iran’s State Media Say Victims of 1988 Massacre “Should Have Been Executed 10 Times Over”

Iran’s state media have given blanket coverage to an ominous statement announcing that the victims of the 1988 massacre “should have been executed 10 times over.” On 26 January 2021, the state-run Mashregh News website, affiliated to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), carried the headline: “They should have been executed 10 times over.” The news agency …

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Hojatoleslam Mohammad Niazi, a Supreme Court Judge in Iran

Iran Supreme Court Judge Says Opponents Can Be Hanged ‘Without a Trial’

Hojatoleslam Mohammad Niazi, a Supreme Court Judge in Iran, says government opponents may be executed without a trial, based on a fatwa handed down in 1988 by the Islamic Republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini. Judge Niazi made the statement in an interview with the state-run Shabestan News Agency on 29 July 2020 about the execution of political …

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Source: AP Photo/Ronald Zak

Townhall Publishes JVMI Op-Ed on Trial in Sweden of Perpetrator of Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Townhall on 19 January 2021 published an op-ed by Tahar Boumedra of JVMI pointing out that the trial in Sweden of a perpetrator of Iran’s 1988 massacre is a historical reminder to criminals and mass murderers that their time in court will come. The following is the full text of the article: Source: https://townhall.com/columnists/taharboumedra/2021/01/19/pleading-for-justice-to-the-victims-of-1988-mass-executions-of-political-prisoners-in-iran-n2583360 Townhall …

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Remembering the victims of Iran's 1988 massacre - Paris, France

JVMI Op-Ed Published in NEWSWEEK Calling for UN Commission of Inquiry into 1988 Massacre in Iran

Newsweek on 15 January 2021 published an op-ed by the JVMI calling on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch a Commission of Inquiry into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. The following is the full text of the article: Source: https://www.newsweek.com/iran-massacre-1988-1561985 NEWSWEEK It’s Not Too Late To Hold Iran’s Regime …

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EU flags

Europe Must Finally Hold Iran Accountable for the 1988 Massacre

Former European Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal Quadras argues in a Townhall column that the EU must finally hold accountable the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre in Iran. The following is the full text of the article: Source: https://townhall.com/columnists/alejovidal-quadras/2021/01/12/the-wisdom-of-doing-something-about-mass-murder-n2583007 Townhall The Wisdom of Doing Something About Mass Murder Alejo Vidal-Quadras|Posted: Jan 12, 2021 12:29 PM …

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Michelle Bachelet UN

Call for a UN Commission of Inquiry Into Iran’s 1988 Massacre

Mass murderers are currently running Iran’s government and Judiciary. Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raisi (who in June 2021 was declared the next President of Iran) was previously identified by JVMI as a key member of the 1988 Death Commissions that extra-judicially sent tens of thousands of political prisoners to their death. In September 2020, seven United …

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Iran EU flags

Europe’s Inaction Is Fueling Impunity In Iran

In an op-ed for Eurasia Review on 1 January 2021, Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) urged the European Union to request a United Nations investigation into the 1988 massacre and to impose sanctions on its perpetrators. Source: https://www.eurasiareview.com/01012021-europes-inaction-is-fueling-impunity-in-iran-oped/ Europe’s Inaction Is Fueling Impunity In Iran Eurasia Review – January …

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Behesht Zahra Cemetery, Plot 41

Iran Breaks Tombstones To Dominate Cemeteries – Radio Farda

Radio Farda published a report on December 31, 2020 on the destruction of graves of political prisoners by agents of the Iranian government: “They go from cemetery to cemetery, looking for unmarked graves. Wherever there is one, they squat over it, hoping that their children might be resting in peace down there. They mark the …

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UK Human Rights Minister Urges Iran to Allow Investigation of 1988 Massacre

United Kingdom Human Rights Minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has called on the Iranian government to allow United Nations Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman access to the country so that he could conduct research and investigations including into the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. The Foreign Office was replying to a written question tabled in Parliament …

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European Parliament Resolution of 17 December 2020 on Iran

The European Parliament on 17 December 2020 adopted a resolution on Iran referring to the mass extrajudicial executions of the 1980s. The text stated that the European Parliament, “Calls on the Government of Iran to immediately and unconditionally release the hundreds of people arbitrarily detained for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and …

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EU High Representative Responds To Question About Iran’s 1988 Massacre

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has responded to a question from a Member of the European Parliament concerning the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. On 6 October 2020, Italian lawmaker Elena Lizzi MEP submitted a question for written answer, with the subject: “Quest for the truth regarding crimes against humanity …

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December 2020: UN experts echo call for international investigation into Iran’s 1988 massacre

Seven United Nations experts have sent a letter to the Iranian authorities stating that the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners could amount to “crimes against humanity” and vowing to call for an international investigation into the mass murders if the authorities continue to refuse to uphold their obligations under international human rights law. …

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November 2020: UN Third Committee Adopts Resolution on Iran

On 18 November 2020, the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee adopted a resolution on the Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, highlighting “long-standing violations involving the Iranian judiciary and security agencies, including enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions” and calling on Iran to “end impunity for such violations”. Draft resolution A/C.3/75/L.31/Rev.1, …

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Joint written statement on Iran's 1988 massacre

21 NGOs appeal to UN to investigate Iran’s 1988 massacre

Twenty-one NGOs have issued a joint appeal to the United Nations to launch an investigation into Iran’s 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners. The statement was submitted to the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The following is the full text of the NGOs’ statement: Link to original source: https://undocs.org/A/HRC/45/NGO/139 A/HRC/45/NGO/139 Distr.: …

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