{"id":224371,"date":"2020-08-22T17:19:48","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T16:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=224371"},"modified":"2023-03-24T00:21:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T23:21:31","slug":"live-report-international-webinar-on-irans-1988-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/live-report-international-webinar-on-irans-1988-massacre\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Report: International Webinar on Iran\u2019s 1988 Massacre"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_224380\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224380\" style=\"width: 696px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-224380\" title=\"Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-1024x517.jpg\" alt=\"Live Report: International Webinar on Iran\u2019s 1988 Massacre\" width=\"696\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-300x152.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-768x388.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-696x352.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-1068x539.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival-832x420.jpg 832w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Executions-Means-to-the-Mullahs-Survival.jpg 1192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224380\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Live Report: International Webinar on Iran\u2019s 1988 Massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Executions<\/span><\/b> <b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Means<\/span><\/b><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to the Mullahs\u2019 Survival.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Call on UN for the 1988 Massacre Accountability<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The National Council of Resistance of Iran (<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/our-resistance\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">NCRI<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">) holds a virtual event today, August 22, at 6:00 pm CE<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">S<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">T, over the <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/20932-the-1988-massacre-in-iran\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">1988 massacre<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> of Iranian political prisoners. This conference will be attended by political dignitaries<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and human rights experts<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> from across the globe. The conference and its panelists call on the international community, particularly the United Nations, to initiate an independent investigation on the 1988 massacre and end the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">impunity of the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Iranian regime<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2019s<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> officials.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The content of this page will be updated<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> throughout the day<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Background\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/20932-the-1988-massacre-in-iran\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">summer of 1988<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly members and supporters of the People&#8217;s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (<\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/english.mojahedin.org\/i\/primer-the-history-the-peoples-mojahedin-organization-iran\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">PMOI\/MEK<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> were executed following a fatwa issued by the regime&#8217;s then-Supreme Leader, Ruhollah Khomeini. These executions were carried out by the so-called &#8220;<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">D<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">eath <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">C<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ommissions<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8221; and trials held by these commissions to identify those steadfast on their ideal<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">s<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> and refusing to succumb to the regime&#8217;s demands only lasted <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">a <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">few minutes. As a result, thousands of prisoners were sent to the gallows. The wave of the massacre of political prisoners began in late July and continued unabated for several months. The perpetrators of the <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/20932-the-1988-massacre-in-iran\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">1988 massacre<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> have never been brought to justice.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>******<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 9:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alfred de Zayas, former UN expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224452\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224452\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224452\" title=\"Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-1024x535.jpg\" alt=\"Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-1536x803.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-696x364.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-1392x727.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-1068x558.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order-804x420.jpg 804w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alfred-de-Zayas-former-UN-expert-on-the-promotion-of-a-democratic-and-equitable-international-order.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alfred de Zayas, former UN expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am particularly touched by the suffering of so many tens of thousands of Iranians whose revolution against the Shah was stolen and who have suffered a theocratic government ever since.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My colleagues, my colleagues rapporteurs, also the rapporteurs on Iran have been calling for a commission of inquiry, an independent commission of inquiry, that has been in my own recommendations, that has been in the recommendations of several United Nations rapporteurs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Obviously there is documentation on all of these crimes, but there is not yet as of this moment an international commission of jurists in charge of this investigation and that should end.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As has been said before by others, including myself, it&#8217;s important to end impunity, we have this reason, established the International Criminal Court in the Hague, we want to ensure that in Iran and in other countries there&#8217;ll be no more impunity for all sorts of criminality, gross violations of Human Rights. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bijan Zolfaghari, former political prisoner and an eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224450\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224450\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224450\" title=\"Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x548.jpg\" alt=\"Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x548.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-768x411.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x823.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-696x373.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x746.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x572.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-784x420.jpg 784w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bijan-Zolfaghari-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224450\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bijan Zolfaghari, former political prisoner and an eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am one of the survivors of the 1988 massacre. I was in Gohardasht, Rasht and Evin prisons from 1981 to 1993.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only a handful of prisoners survived the 1988 massacre. Most of the truth of that crime is still hidden behind the curtain, especially in provinces other than Tehran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One day a guard entered the airing yard, holding a walkie, and checked everywhere. This was the first case that aroused our suspicion. After a while, they brought in some prisoners, whom my cellmates knew. Then they were moved through the main gate. Then there had been gathered the guards, clerks, cooks and service workers all in one line, standing right behind a handbarrow filled with ropes. They all went towards that building. They must all contribute to the crime so no one would reveal the secrets. This was the regime&#8217;s plan. We see for this reason, after 32 years, they still remain silent. Because they are all participants in this crime. From the bottom to their top. And this crime is so heinous, none open his mouth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This decision to wipe the prisons had been made many years ago. Later, it was completed, during the classification and division, around the year 1987. They only looked for a chance to make it happen. After the ceasefire, they took advantage of this opportunity and began the massacre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every day, we must protest, so the international organizations would pursue this crime against humanity, so it wouldn\u2019t repeat again. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jamileh Gholami, sister of one of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224448\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224448\" title=\"Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x534.jpg\" alt=\"Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x534.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-768x400.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x801.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-696x363.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x726.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x557.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-806x420.jpg 806w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jamileh-Gholami-sister-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamileh Gholami, sister of one of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My brother Ali Asghar Gholami was arrested in March of 1981. In 1988, despite his sentence of life imprisonment, he was executed because of his resistance and steadfastness.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My brother was arrested in 1981 with no charge, no evidence, nothing. He spent most of his prison time in solitary confinement under severe tortures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before August, my brother and four others who had announced their position in support of MEK were so brutally tortured that according to their cellmates, he could not sit or lie down. Later they executed him. In August, they executed 40 to 50 of those who continued to support MEK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were buried in mass graves in Vakil-Abad. Even now, when my family goes to visit the grave, it is not known where he is buried. There is a mass grave that everyone goes to visit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 9:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Bob Blackman, British MP<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224442\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224442\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224442\" title=\"Bob-Blackman-British-MP\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-1024x584.jpg\" alt=\"Bob-Blackman-British-MP\" width=\"600\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-1024x584.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-1536x876.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-696x397.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-1392x794.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-1068x609.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP-736x420.jpg 736w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Bob-Blackman-British-MP.jpg 1595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224442\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Blackman, British MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With regards to the 1988 massacre in Iran, the international community and the UN have truly failed the Iranian people and their moral obligations as the vanguards and advocates of human rights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My colleagues and I in the UK House of Commons addressed exactly this issue in a parliamentary motion in 2016.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With this parliamentary support, the UK Government has the right incentives to take actions on the 1988 massacre in Iran at the UN by introducing the demand for an independent international investigation into the 1988 massacre and the prosecution of the perpetrators into the UN resolution on Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will continue to stand with you and support the NCRI who works on your behalf until we have secured justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre and brought those responsible for this crime against humanity to account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farzaneh Sepehri, family member of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224441\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224441\" title=\"Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x584.jpg\" alt=\"Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x584.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x877.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-696x397.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x795.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x610.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-736x420.jpg 736w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farzaneh-Sepehri-family-member-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1589w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224441\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farzaneh Sepehri, family member of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My family have been supporters of PMOI since 1980. In 1981, sadly, my brother, Mohammad Sepehry was sentenced to death when he was only a student at the age of 19. In the same year, my cousin, Fatemeh Shayesteh, an Army officer and at the age of 26 or 27, was also sentenced to death and subsequently executed. In 1982, my aunt, Soghra Davoody and her son, Ahmad Reza Shayesteh, both were charged with being PMOI supporters and consequently sent to gallows. My aunt was a simple housewife and about 60 years old. She was hanged. Her son, my cousin Ahmad Reza, a law student, was also hanged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The executioner put a funnel into Ahmad Reza\u2019s mouth and poured chemical liquids and detergent powder and forced him to swallow it. The executioners forcibly kept his mother to watch her son being tortured. The day my cousin was sent to gallows, again, they brought his mother to see her son being hung off the gallows. They cold heartedly caused such horrible scenes in an effort to force her to betray other MEK supporters.\u00a0 Afterwards, they cruelly hung her as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1986, another of my cousins, Mohammad Reza Shayesteh, an architect who was imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran, was also executed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mother and younger brother, five-year-old Mohammad Hanif, disappeared in 1988 when they tried to leave the country. We assumed they have been arrested and executed. Through all these years, I have been wondering what might have happened to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope that one day, when the voice of the Iranian people can be heard, the UN and other human right bodies learn about what happened to the Iranian people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prof Eric David, Emeritus Professor of international law at the Universit\u00e9 libre de Bruxelles<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224439\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224439\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224439\" title=\"Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles\" width=\"600\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-1536x858.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-696x389.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-1392x778.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-1068x597.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles-752x420.jpg 752w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Prof-Eric-David-Emeritus-Professor-of-international-law-at-the-Universite-libre-de-Bruxelles.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prof Eric David, Emeritus Professor of international law at the Universit\u00e9 libre de Bruxelles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The massacres of 1988 of activists\u00a0 or sympathizers of the\u00a0 MEK,\u00a0 are a real crime against humanity,\u00a0 it is a crime\u00a0 against humanity because itis an attack agasint a civilian population\u00a0 and therefore\u00a0 it perfectly meets \u00a0 the definition of crime against humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The characterization\u00a0 of crimes against\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 humanity can be doubled by another\u00a0 qualification.\u00a0 This may also be\u00a0 called a crime of genocide since these people were, in essence, massacred because of an alleged apostasy, so\u00a0 for\u00a0 a religious reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reza Shemirani, former political prisoner and an eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224434\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224434\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224434\" title=\"Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x583.jpg\" alt=\"Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x583.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-768x437.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x875.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-696x396.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x793.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x608.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-737x420.jpg 737w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Reza-Shemirani-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1587w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224434\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Reza Shemirani, former political prisoner and an eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I joined MEK in 1979 and I was arrested in 1981 and subsequently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a 2-minute long trial without having a lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were lots of indications during 1987 which showed that the regime was planning a massacre and the prisoners had concluded this and back then.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Summer 1984, an interrogator told me: \u2018We have plans for the prison. If you cooperate with me, I will help you survive that plan.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When they brought someone out of the Death Room and sentenced him to death, they definitely did not let him go back to others and tell them about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we saw and heard indicates that Khomeini executed those prisoners in the most savage way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 8:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Samih Choukeir, Syrian musician\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224431\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224431\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224431\" title=\"Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-1024x582.jpg\" alt=\"Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician\" width=\"600\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-1024x582.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-1536x873.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-696x395.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-1392x791.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-1068x607.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician-739x420.jpg 739w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Samih-Choukeir-Syrian-musician.jpg 1586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224431\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Samih Choukeir, Syrian musician<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What has been going on in Iran and Syria\u2019s prisons is the killing of tens of thousands of prisoners for their political beliefs. These two governments are beyond the orbit of human civilization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The world conscience and the freedom-loving people of the world are profoundly distressed by what is going on in Iran and Syria. The hope is that our nations are freed from these two regimes. Honor to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives so we can have a future of freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fereshteh Behzad, sister of one the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224428\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224428\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224428\" title=\"Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x570.jpg\" alt=\"Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x570.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-300x167.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-768x428.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x855.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-696x388.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x775.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x595.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-754x420.jpg 754w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Fereshteh-Behzad-sister-of-one-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224428\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fereshteh Behzad, sister of one the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My brother, Mostafa Behzad, was one of the victims of the 1988 massacre. In 1986 when he was only 19, he was in fact taken hostage only because my elder brother had left Iran to join MEK. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment and despite having served his term, he was executed in 1988.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In November 1988 they called my father and asked him to go to the \u201cCommittee\u201d. Since my brother had served his term, we thought it had to be about his release. My father went there happily to receive the news of his son\u2019s freedom but upon entry, they threw a bag towards him and said: \u201cThese are your son\u2019s belongings. We killed him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My father had a heart attack, paralyzing half of his body. He also lost his eyesight. They told him to sign a commitment not to tell anybody about his son being killed and that we were not allowed to mourn or wear black.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They never delivered his body to us. Nor did they tell us where he was buried. We have even no information about the way he was killed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I hear the news of the execution of the participants in recent uprisings in Iran, I recall those memories and remember the moment in 1988 when they executed the prisoners one by one and delivered the news without even returning their bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tahar Boumedra, former chief of the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and a legal expert<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224426\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224426\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224426\" title=\"Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert.jpg\" alt=\"Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert\" width=\"600\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert.jpg 884w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert-696x389.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Tahar-Boumedra-former-chief-of-the-Human-Rights-Office-of-the-United-Nations-Assistance-Mission-for-Iraq-UNAMI-and-a-legal-expert-752x420.jpg 752w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224426\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tahar Boumedra, former chief of the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and a legal expert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the absence of any official independent inquiry into the mass extralegal killing and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners, and given that the Iranian government had proved to be unwilling to cooperate with the UN Special Procedures on this matter, the Lond-based association of \u201cJustice for the 1988 Massacre of the Political Prisoners in Iran (JVMI)\u201d probed into a large amount of data emanating from various sources, including statements of officials in the Iranian government. JVMI published two reports on the 1988 massacre shedding light on what happened and identifying the suspect perpetrators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two JVMI reports of 2016 and 2017 were published and submitted to the relevant United Nations organizations calling for the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It should be underlined that the persecution of political prisoners in Iran on the ground of their political, religious and\/or ethnic belongings is an ongoing crime that must stop and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. Today, in the absence of accountability, the Iranian regime is getting emboldened in persecuting peaceful demonstrators who request that the public funds be spent on the well-being of the people of Iran rather than on exporting the Islamic revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After 32 years since the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, it is clear that the Iranian officials are unwilling to act on the calls of the UN to investigate and reveal the truth. It is also clear that the UN human rights agencies are unable or unwilling to set up an independent commission of inquiry without the consent of the Iranian authorities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, what are in the circumstances, the other avenues left to the families of the victims? I suggest three possible avenues:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1- Universal jurisdiction: As most Iranian suspects in the commission of crimes against humanity are already listed for terrorism offences and other crimes under international law by EU member states, USA, Canada and others, it is possible for a national court of these states to accept jurisdiction over an act categorized as a crime against humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2- facilitating the conditions for the Chief prosecutor of the ICC to initiate on her\/his own initiative after seeking the permission of the concerned chamber of the ICC to undertake a preliminary investigation of the most serious crimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3- the referral of the case by the UN Security Council to the ICC to investigate and prosecute.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Message of political prisoners in Evin Prison\u2014Tehran, Iran<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The world never found out what happened in the summer of 1988. What was the crime of the victims? Impunity has given the mullahs a green light to continue executions and torture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, those who have been arrested during the recent protests are under torture and facing execution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We ask for a complete investigation by the UN into the 1988 massacre. This is an important step to stop executions in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 8:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farah Eslami, family member of one of the 1988 victims<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224423\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224423\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224423\" title=\"Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-1024x582.jpg\" alt=\"Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims\" width=\"600\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-1024x582.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-768x437.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-1536x874.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-696x396.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-1392x792.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-1068x607.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims-738x420.jpg 738w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Farah-Eslami-family-member-of-one-of-the-1988-victims.jpg 1586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224423\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farah Eslami, family member of one of the 1988 victims<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was born after the 1988 massacre, but have a direct connection to this crime against humanity. My aunt, my father\u2019s little sister, Farah Eslami is one of the 30,000 victims of the massacre and I carry her name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farah a student activist, was arrested and was in prison for 3 years, when she was released she had been subject to such horrific tortures that when taken to a doctor the specialist was shocked and came to tears when he learned they were due to torture, had never seen such wounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In early 1988 Farah was re-arrested but it wasn\u2019t clear why and they never gave her a sentence. During a prison transfer on July 20th 1988, their vehicle broke down, but authorities decided to spend the night in a nearby village, and with the break of dawn, they took Farah along with four other women and two men to the nearby hills and executed them after raping them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My Aunt was one of more than 30,000 thousand young and brave children of this proud nation and just one of those who stood up against this theocratic islamic mafia which has done everything that god has forbidden in the name of Islam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, my request from the international community is to put an end to this impunity, this cycle of death and execution is continuing today in Iran; this is an ongoing crime against humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hossein Farsi, former political prisoner and an eyewitness of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224420\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224420\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224420\" title=\"Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x579.jpg\" alt=\"Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x579.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-768x434.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x869.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-696x394.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x787.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x604.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre-743x420.jpg 743w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hossein-Farsi-former-political-prisoner-and-an-eyewitness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224420\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hossein Farsi, former political prisoner and an eyewitness of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was in prison for 12 years on charges of supporting the MEK. The prisoners were brought to long corridors where they would face the \u201cDeath Committee.\u201d Each prisoner would face the committee. The key question was, \u2018What is your crime?\u2019 If the prisoner said \u2018Mojahed,\u2019 they would be executed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prison warden or his deputy would call the names of the prisoners. They would form long lines of 50-60 blindfolded inmates and they would be marched to the killing fields. I personally witnessed this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My own brother was executed in Evin prison during the 1988 massacre. Our families were insulted and humiliated behind prison doors where they wanted to meet with us. Many don\u2019t even know where their loved ones are buried. They are not allowed to hold mourning ceremonies for the victims. Some families are just learning about the fate of the prisoners now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This situation continues today. My brother is in prison. My sister is also in prison, is suffering from cancer, and is exposed to the novel coronavirus. Her family are worried. My brother Ahmad is in a section in Evin where there are known cases of Covid-19. This is a situation that has continued for 40 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struan Stevenson, the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change in Iran and a former Member of the European Parliament<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224418\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224418\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224418\" title=\"Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-1024x580.jpg\" alt=\"Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-1536x870.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-696x394.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-1392x789.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-1068x605.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament-741x420.jpg 741w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Struan-Stevenson-the-coordinator-of-the-Campaign-for-Iran-Change-in-Iran-and-a-former-Member-of-the-European-Parliament.jpg 1592w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Struan Stevenson, the coordinator of the Campaign for Iran Change in Iran and a former Member of the European Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monstrous acts of butchery like [the 1988 massacre] have become grisly milestones in the history of oppression and tyranny in contemporary Iran. And even the death of Khomeini has brought no respite. His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has presided over a regime that now executes more people per capita than any other country in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the key executioners during the 1988 massacre, no hold senior positions in the fascist dictatorship, why, after 32 years has no one been held to account for this horror?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran is an example of both a crime against humanity and a genocide based on international conventions. Neither crimes against humanity nor genocide are allowed to expire with the passage of time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a time when the Iranian people have shown with their consecutive and nationwide protests that they are sick of the current regime and the ongoing violation of human rights, it&#8217;s surely the duty of the international community and especially the United Nations to respond by supporting their call for justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the U.N. General Assembly due to take place in September, the Iranian people are now watching closely. They are appalled that the U.N. has removed the 1988 massacre from their agenda. This item must be discussed. Failure to do so would represent a U.N. condoning murder. It is the duty of the U.N. to examine this case and bring its masterminds and perpetrators to justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The mullahs and their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, must now face justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 7:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hengameh Haj Hassan, former political prisoner<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224415\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224415\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224415\" title=\"Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner\" width=\"600\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-1536x858.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-696x389.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-1392x778.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-1068x597.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner-752x420.jpg 752w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Hengameh-Haj-Hassan-former-political-prisoner.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224415\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hengameh Haj Hassan, former political prisoner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was a nurse in Tehran\u2019s Sina Hospital. I was arrested in 1981 on charges of supporting the MEK and spent three years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our first crime was being a woman. The regime did not want to see women resisting against them. I was brutally tortured during my incarceration. It is inconceivable that they could do such things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of my crimes was attending to wounded MEK members as a nurse. One of my friends was executed because she resisted the torturers. Many of the prisoners were arrested when they were underage and executed after they reached the age of 18.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one of the prisons they had created cages for the inmates. Every prisoner was placed in a confined area two-feet wide. We sat there blindfolded and were not allowed to make the slightest noise or move at all. Any movement or noise would result in brutal torture. I was there for more than seven months. I counted 90 prisoners in the cage unit that I was incarcerated in. There were more in other locations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the \u201cresidential units,\u201d the tortures were worse. Prisoners who went there said in comparison, the cages were like breaks. They were kept standing positions for many days. There were brutal tortures in those facilities. They forced prisoners to make animal noises. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kirsty Brimelow, QC, an international human rights lawyer<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224413\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224413\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224413\" title=\"Kirsty-Brimelow-QC-an-international-human-rights-lawyer\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Kirsty-Brimelow-QC-an-international-human-rights-lawyer.jpg\" alt=\"Kirsty-Brimelow-QC-an-international-human-rights-lawyer\" width=\"600\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Kirsty-Brimelow-QC-an-international-human-rights-lawyer.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Kirsty-Brimelow-QC-an-international-human-rights-lawyer-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224413\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kirsty Brimelow, QC, an international human rights lawyer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2018 I acted as counsel to peoples tribunal in Geneva and there I heard the accounts given by many family members of survivors from this time. Accounts given included that from a father who described that he received the news of the execution of his daughter by being told that the bullets required payment the bullets that have been used to shoot and kill his daughter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Others gave accounts and evidence of their desperation to find information about the whereabouts of their loved ones in order to Bury them with dignity and accordance with their religious traditions. Their bodies are still unidentified and not located in many cases dumped in mass graves. One elderly woman I heard from moved me greatly as she spoke of still believing that his son must still be alive somewhere in a prison in Iran as she had never recovered his remains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is little progress in addressing this crime against humanity. This massacre needs to remain at the forefront of the United Nations considerations when it considers human rights violation in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If it is not tackled, impunity from 1988 continues to impact and inform human rights violations in the present in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those responsible or suspected of being responsible are not difficult to locate many are speaking about their role there and in fact boasting of their role there in 1988 in recent interviews.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A tribunal is required to examine the evidence of what happened in 1988 to provide remedies and reparations with a view to informing and preventing human rights violations in the present and in the future. The families of those who have been killed, disappeared, deserve no less.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assadollah Nabavi, former political prisoner and eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224410\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224410\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224410\" title=\"Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x578.jpg\" alt=\"Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x578.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-768x434.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x868.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-696x393.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x786.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x603.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-744x420.jpg 744w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Assadollah-Nabavi-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assadollah Nabavi, former political prisoner and eye witness of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the days of the 1988 massacre in Iran, I was imprisoned in Semnan Prison (east of Tehran). The regime and its executioners did their utmost to keep the massacre a secret. Even for myself being inside the prison, the story was obscure. My friends were taken away one after another to be executed, but I couldn\u2019t imagine such a horrible event.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They had prepared the circumstances for the executions. Except for me and two other people, everyone in Semnan Prison had been executed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I got out of prison after 13 years, I saw the effects of those crimes on the victims\u2019 families. Two years after the massacre, one of the mothers would travel 100 kilometer every Tuesday from Garmsar to Semnan to visit her son\u2019s grave. She had never believed the execution son, since they gave her no gravestone, no corpse and no information indicating the execution of her son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The families of the survivors of the massacre are still experiencing it, because there is no evidence or documents to show whether their kids have been executed, under what circumstances they might have been executed, and where their remains have been buried.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amineh Gharaei, daughter of a 1988 massacre victim<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224408\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224408\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224408\" title=\"Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-1392x783.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Amineh-Gharaei-daughter-of-a-1988-massacre-victim.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224408\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amineh Gharaei, daughter of a 1988 massacre victim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mother and father were political prisoners. In June 1986, my father was arrested for making a telephone call to an MEK member. He was sentenced to five years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In July 1988, they told us we can not visit my father. After three months, regime agents contacted my grandfather and told them they had executed him. They didn\u2019t even tell us where he was buried<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We tried to find signs of their graves. He was buried in a mass grave with other prisoners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 1988 massacre is such a disaster that it is unbelievable. After 32 years, we are still waiting for justice and for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. Had it not been for the MEK and their round-the-clock efforts, the regime would have kept the 1988 massacre silent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our campaign is not for revenge. We want to put an end to imprisonment, execution, and torture. As a child of one of these martyrs and on behalf of families of hte 1988 massacre, I demand that the UN establish an independent committee to investigate the massacre and to help stop the cycle of executions in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dominique Attias, former deputy chair of the Lawyers\u2019 Guild in Paris<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224407\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224407\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224407\" title=\"Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-1024x581.jpg\" alt=\"Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-1024x581.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-1536x872.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-696x395.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-1392x790.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-1068x606.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris-740x420.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dominique-Attias-former-deputy-chair-of-the-Lawyers-Guild-in-Paris.jpg 1593w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224407\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominique Attias, former deputy chair of the Lawyers\u2019 Guild in Paris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a serious matter and one that needs to be addressed and finally answered. To get an answer from the Iranian authorities who are currently in power, to get support from commissions, from all the international committees and from the UN.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So many people, so many young people, men and women, were executed and murdered. 30,000 people were murdered in 1988 and there is complete silence. A total silence, while families need to know and recuperate the bodies, and the dead need to be buried and honored. These are crimes against humanity. It is inconceivable to ignore them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are all, and all women, are in support of Iranian women who want to know about their sisters, mothers, their grandmothers and&#8230; It is unacceptable that such a massacre should go unmentioned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stand up, all of you, the United Nations and my dear representatives.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not let this pass. It is not because Iran has oil that human rights, women&#8217;s rights, men&#8217;s rights, and the rights of humanity must be trampled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We will all continue to cry out to demand that justice be served, that the bodies be returned, and that, at last, at last, light comes out and shines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 7:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gholam Torchizi, brother of three 1988 massacre victims<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224405\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224405\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224405\" title=\"Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-1024x585.jpg\" alt=\"Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims\" width=\"600\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-1024x585.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-1536x878.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-696x398.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-1392x796.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-1068x611.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims-735x420.jpg 735w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Gholam-Torchizi-brother-of-three-1988-massacre-victims.jpg 1590w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224405\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gholam Torchizi, brother of three 1988 massacre victims<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three of my brothers, Behrooz, Bahman and Reza, were executed by the regime. In 1981, it was the last time we saw Behrooz. We checked the hospitals, police stations. It took us 17 days until we saw an article in daily newspaper Keyhan where they had published the names of the people they had executed. His name was on row 43. They told my father he was executed for taking pictures and holding a camera.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My older brother Bahman disappeared in 1982. My other brother Reza went into hiding with my mother. They disappeared too. After a month, my mother came back and said they were arrested. In Evin prison they had told my mother that Bahman was killed during an arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reza was told to repent and execute other prisoners to be released. Eventually they called my dad and gave him a bag with Reza\u2019s belongings. He was executed even though his sentence was finished. The regime never acknowledged executing Reza and Bahman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zhani Ciko, Albanian famous musician<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224403\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224403\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224403\" title=\"Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-1024x564.jpg\" alt=\"Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician\" width=\"600\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-1024x564.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-768x423.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-1536x846.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-696x383.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-1392x766.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-1068x588.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician-763x420.jpg 763w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zhani-Ciko-Albanian-famous-musician.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zhani Ciko, Albanian famous musician<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are your partners in the struggle against the clerical regime. The regime has committed many crimes. The massacre of political prisoner in 1988 is one of the greatest crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 21st century the horrible crimes of this regime agasint the people continue. I call for an investigation by the international community into the 1988 massacre. The perpetrators must be brought to justice. We wish for a free Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mr. Yahya Shojaee, father of four victims of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224401\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224401\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224401\" title=\"Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x783.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-747x420.jpg 747w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Mr.-Yahya-Shojaee-father-of-four-victims-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224401\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mr. Yahya Shojaee, father of four victims of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Four members of my family were executed during the 1988 massacre. My daughter Nasrin was arrested on charges of supporting the Mojahedin. She hadn\u2019t done anything. Just because she was my child and I was an MEK supporter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They didn&#8217;t have anything against her. After about two years, they released her. Then in 1988 they arrested her again. She was in prison for three weeks. She was so brutally tortured that her body was practically torn apart. They sent her out to be treated. But after a week and scheduling an appointment with the doctor, they came again, arrested her, and executed her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zeinab Shadbash, family member of the 1988 massacre victims<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224399\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224399\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224399\" title=\"Zeinab-Shadbash-family-member-of-the-1988-massacre-victims\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zeinab-Shadbash-family-member-of-the-1988-massacre-victims.jpg\" alt=\"Zeinab-Shadbash-family-member-of-the-1988-massacre-victims\" width=\"600\" height=\"342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zeinab-Shadbash-family-member-of-the-1988-massacre-victims.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Zeinab-Shadbash-family-member-of-the-1988-massacre-victims-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224399\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zeinab Shadbash, family member of the 1988 massacre victims<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My aunt, Maryam Tavanaian Fard, is one of the martyrs of the 1988 massacre. She was 25 years old when was arrested for installing a few posters and got sentenced to serve for 7 years. They took her to Evin and there she was awfully tortured. After 7 years, awaiting her freedom, they told us that they will free her. We went, with flowers and sweets, to receive her, along with my grandpa and grandma, but they tossed her bag at us and said that they executed her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once I joined Mojahedin, I looked for her cellmates, to see if I could find someone to hear some memories of hers, since I did not know much about her. Fortunately, I found a few of her cellmates which had survived, and asked them about their memories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They had torture her so severely, the skin of her soles had gone completely. And in order to continue the torture, they had to cut some skin off other parts of her body and stick it to her soles. The night before her execution, they cut off the left foot and the right hand and then they would go ahead with the hanging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is painful that this still continues and even today, there are many awaiting their execution under the rule of this regime. I ask the United Nations and The Amnesty International, a serious request, to pass a resolution on this matter, and not to give up on this issue. And this is the wish of all those whom their voice cannot reach you. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 6:30 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224397\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224397\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224397\" title=\"Jean-Ziegler-member-of-the-Advisory-Committee-of-the-UN-Human-Rights-Council\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jean-Ziegler-member-of-the-Advisory-Committee-of-the-UN-Human-Rights-Council.jpg\" alt=\"Jean-Ziegler-member-of-the-Advisory-Committee-of-the-UN-Human-Rights-Council\" width=\"600\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jean-Ziegler-member-of-the-Advisory-Committee-of-the-UN-Human-Rights-Council.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jean-Ziegler-member-of-the-Advisory-Committee-of-the-UN-Human-Rights-Council-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224397\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jean Ziegler, member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1988, a horrific massacre took place in Iran. More than 30,000 young people, mostly linked\u00a0 to the MEK, were murdered in prisons, in the streets, in their homes, by the Pasdarans, by the killers of the mullah regime.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a mass murder ordered by the leader of the regime, by Khomeini, by a fatwa of Khomeini. A cold-blooded massacre that has gone unpunished to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These criminal mullahs continue to hang young protesters who have committed no crime other than to demand freedom of speech, democratic freedom to demonstrate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are other heirs of the martyrs of 1988, it is the people in Ashraf 3, these heroes, men, women, who are today in Albania and who keep alive the memory of 1988.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The crimes have gone unpunished to this day. But the legacy of the martyrs, the fire of peaceful struggle, the patience, the determination of the MEK under the leadership of Maryam Rajavi every day unmasks more, further reduces the murderous dictatorship of the mullahs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The third genocide of the end of the last century, the genocide of young Iranians and young Iranians in Khomeini prisons\u00a0 in 1988, demands the establishment of a commission of inquiry. Impunity is intolerable. The grief of the families is profound. This mourning cannot end without this commission of inquiry, without transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behrooz Maghsoodi, son of a former political prisoner<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224395\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224395\" title=\"Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner\" width=\"600\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-1536x862.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-696x391.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-1392x781.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-1068x599.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner-748x420.jpg 748w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Behrooz-Maghsoodi-son-of-a-former-political-prisoner.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Behrooz Maghsoodi, son of a former political prisoner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m still in awe of what really happened in summer of 1988 and throughout these years in Iran. In a family of seven children, six including my mother were jailed for supporting the PMOI. Three of my uncles were executed between the years 1981 and 1988.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saeid Attarzadeh Olya was 19 years old and arrested by the IRGC in 1981. His crime was being a MEK supporter. My family found Saeid\u2019s name in the newspaper, alongside the names of 90 other prisoners that were executed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Behrooz Attarzadeh Olya was my youngest uncle. He was arrested in June 1981 when he was 16 years old. Even though, Behrouz was a minor at the time of his arrest the regime kept him in Evin and Ghezelhessar prisons for 7 years without a sentence and finally executed him in the 1988 massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My third uncle, Mohsen Attarzadeh Olya was arrested in 1985. Mohsen was arrested on charges of \u201cattempt to connect\u201d to the opposition group MEK. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He was 24 years old when arrested and was executed in the summer of 1988 after three years of imprisonment even though he was given a 10-year sentence. We still don\u2019t know how he was executed and where his grave is.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m very proud of my uncles who chose to stand up against the Mullah\u2019s regime despite its heavy price.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We, the families of the 1988 victims demand an independent investigation by the UN into one of the most hideous crimes against humanity after the Second World War.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parvin Poureghbali, former political prisoner and eyewitness of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224392\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224392\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224392\" title=\"Parvin-Poureghbali-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Poureghbali-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg\" alt=\"Parvin-Poureghbali-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Poureghbali-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Poureghbali-former-political-prisoner-and-eye-witness-of-the-1988-massacre-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224392\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Parvin Poureghbali, former political prisoner and eyewitness of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was in a prison from 1981 to 1982 because of supporting PMOI. I was arrested in 1986 again and I was in a jail until 1991. The first time I was arrested, I was a 15 year-old student. I was a school kid. Many teenagers were arrested like me. In prison we had 13 \u2013 14-year-old students, teenagers, and even elderly mothers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I witnessed the mass killing of those years and later during the 1988 massacre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They decided to carry out a genocide. They decided to eliminate all of those prisoners and they did this in the 1988 massacre, although they paved the way earlier and we could see or hear some signals. No one could imagine that they might execute so many people in just one month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of those killed had sentences issued in their cases. Many of them were supposed to be released.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE: 6:00 PM CEST<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Baroness Sandy Verma, Member of the UK House of Lords, and Ex. Minister for International Developmen<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224390\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224390\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224390\" title=\"Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-1024x593.jpg\" alt=\"Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen\" width=\"600\" height=\"348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-1024x593.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-768x445.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-1536x890.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-696x403.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-1392x806.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-1068x619.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen-725x420.jpg 725w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Baroness-Sandy-Verma-Member-of-the-UK-House-of-Lords-and-Ex.-Minister-for-International-Developmen.jpg 1566w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224390\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Baroness Sandy Verma, Member of the UK House of Lords, and Ex. Minister for International Developmen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today\u2019s conference on the 1988 massacre in Iran comes at a very timely moment because usually it is in the month of August that Canada, UK and EU begin to draft the UN resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, which is then voted on, at the General Assembly later in the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The human rights situation is deteriorating for the worst as the regime has resorted to a brutal crackdown to crush popular protests and silence the growing popular dissent in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Western democracies can no longer ignore this clear connection between the regime\u2019s leadership and their involvement in serious human rights violations like the 1988 massacre. Otherwise we will never see nor expect any improvements or change for the better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is therefore paramount that the coming UN resolution that the General Assembly adopts concretely address this issue of impunity and accountability especially with regards to the 1988 massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Madam Rajavi, we stand with you and all those who struggle for free and safe Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Razieh Parandak, mother of one of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224388\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224388\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224388\" title=\"Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x543.jpg\" alt=\"Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre\" width=\"600\" height=\"318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1024x543.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-768x408.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1536x815.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-696x369.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1392x739.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-1068x567.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre-792x420.jpg 792w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Razieh-Parandak-mother-of-one-of-the-victims-of-the-1988-massacre.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Razieh Parandak, mother of one of the victims of the 1988 massacre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1982, [my son] Mehran participated in a demonstration in the city of Karaj. He was arrested. He was sentenced to six months in prison. But they held him for six years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1987, he was released. They arrested him when he was crossing the border [to join the MEK]. They told his father they had executed him and told him &#8220;to deposit 100,000 tomans to Imam&#8217;s account and we will tell you where he is buried.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giulio Terzi, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs<\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224386\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224386\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224386\" title=\"Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-1024x572.jpg\" alt=\"Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs\" width=\"600\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-1024x572.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-1536x858.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-696x389.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-1392x778.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-1068x597.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs-752x420.jpg 752w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Giulio-Terzi-former-Italian-Minister-of-Foreign-Affairs.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224386\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giulio Terzi, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twentieth Century&#8217;s Genocides in Europe, Africa, Asia\u00a0 began and developed mainly because of cowardice, dreams of appeasement,\u00a0 fears and\u00a0 lack of political will of Governments and\u00a0 public opinions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The International Community in its entirety knew and knows [about the 1988 massacre].The United Nations, the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, the UN Human Right Council, they all knew.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no doubt that 1988 killings were crimes against humanity: the clear beginning of a vast political and ethnic genocide, that\u00a0 is still the real &#8220;work in progress&#8221; for the Iranian theocracy against\u00a0 all opposition group, religious and national minorities.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Iranian genocidal regime must be stopped and brought to Justice. Hezbollah must be included in its entirety in the list of Terrorist entities sanctioned by the EU, the UN , and other regional or global organizations; the same should happen for IRGC and MOIS. The imminent session of the UNGA is the first and most urgent opportunity in our agenda for Rule of Law and Justice in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3>Parvin Firuzan, former political prisoner<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224382\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224382\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224382\" title=\"Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-1024x535.jpg\" alt=\"Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner\" width=\"600\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-1536x803.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-696x364.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-1392x727.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-1068x558.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner-804x420.jpg 804w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Parvin-Firuzan-former-political-prisoner.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224382\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Parvin Firuzan, former political prisoner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was imprisoned from 1981 to 1990, in Tehran, Evin, Gohardasht, and Ghezel Hesar prisons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of my dearest friends, Ashraf Ahmadi was arrested in 1981 and hanged in 1988. She was among the first people to be executed during the massacre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In prison, I witnessed the prison guards taking her child by force. They had no mercy. The child was also screaming and calling for her mother. 39 years has passed. But still, when I recall this scene, I feel my heart is burning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were countless other mothers who were executed during the massacre. Their children were left with no parents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the massacre, the prisoners could only go out of the room to wash the dishes of breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was no &#8220;breathing&#8221; time. We were in solitary confinements and we did not know what was happening. In our facility, nearly 150 of our sisters were executed. I had memories from each and every one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those heroes stood by their promises to their people. They are the reason why the word &#8220;Mojahed&#8221; will be eternally alive in our history. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3>David Jones, British MP, former Secretary of State for Wales<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_224379\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224379\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224379\" title=\"David-Jones-British-MP-and-former-Secretary-of-State-for-Wales\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/David-Jones-British-MP-and-former-Secretary-of-State-for-Wales.jpg\" alt=\"David-Jones-British-MP-and-former-Secretary-of-State-for-Wales\" width=\"600\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/David-Jones-British-MP-and-former-Secretary-of-State-for-Wales.jpg 512w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/David-Jones-British-MP-and-former-Secretary-of-State-for-Wales-300x173.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224379\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Jones, British MP, and former Secretary of State for Wales<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[The 1988 massacre] not only lays bare the international community\u2019s inexplicable failure to uphold and defend international law enacted to prevent genocides and massacres but also highlights a worrying culture of impunity for serious human rights abusers in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There will be no end to human rights violations if perpetrators are rewarded and promoted based on their atrocities instead of facing prosecution, as it is clearly the case with regards to the 1988 massacre in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have therefore urged our Foreign Secretary and the FCO to take the initiative at the UN and work with our international allies to make sure that this year\u2019s adopted resolution on Iran includes a paragraph that calls for an independent international investigation into the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran in order to establish the true extent of this crime as well as a call to bring those found responsible to justice through prosecution in an international court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without actual accountability for serious human rights abusers, all of our efforts to protect and promote human rights in Iran will be wasted in vain.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Executions Means to the Mullahs&rsquo; Survival. Call on UN for the 1988 Massacre Accountability&nbsp; The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) holds a virtual event today, August 22, at [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":224380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,45,284],"tags":[129,141,142,197,198,202],"class_list":{"0":"post-224371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-resistance","8":"category-news","9":"category-iran-1988-massacre-of-political-prisoners","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-human-rights","12":"tag-1988-massacre","13":"tag-mek-iran","14":"tag-ncri","15":"tag-mek"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Live Report: International Webinar on Iran\u2019s 1988 Massacre - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Executions Means to the Mullahs\u2019 Survival. 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