![\"US-conference-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/US-conference-2.jpg\" "\\"US-conference-2\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Iranian regime\u2019s President Ebrahim Raisi<\/a> address the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly with a pre-recorded speech in which he overlooked the issue of nuclear proliferation and blamed the United States for Iran\u2019s immediate problems. Referring to economic sanctions as a new means of warfare, Raisi accused the US Treasury Department of preventing the import of medicines during the coronavirus pandemic, then cited recent developments like the fraught withdrawal from Afghanistan as signs of American decline and failure. Nasrollah Marandi, speaking on behalf of an entire delegation of former political prisoners at the Stockholm conference, reported that they had witnessed the execution of thousands of their friends and colleagues in the two facilities where Raisi had his initial jurisdiction. \u201cMany of our friends witnessed the execution of many MKE<\/a> members by Raisi in Hamedan and Karaj,\u201d he added, referring to the Mojahedin-e Khalq<\/a>, or People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK), which was the leading voice of opposition to the theocratic regime and thus became the main focus of the 1988 massacre.<\/p>\n The massacre reportedly claimed about 30,000 victims over the course of three months, with 90 percent of them being affiliated with the MEK. Ebrahim Raisi is considered uniquely responsible for this pace of executions, and his presence in Hamedan and Karaj, as well as in Tehran, is evidence of this. Once the systematic executions were well underway in Evin Prison, Khomeini personally expanded Raisi\u2019s jurisdiction as a reward for the initial enthusiasm he had demonstrated in implementing Khomeini\u2019s fatwa<\/a> ordering the mass execution of the MEK\u2019s members and defenders. In a letter, the regime\u2019s founder and first supreme leader empowered Raisi to correct for the \u201cweakness of the judiciary\u201d by facilitating \u201cGod\u2019s command\u201d in several cities where the MEK was believed to be highly active.<\/p>\n \u201cKhomeini sought to eradicate the [MEK] quickly,\u201d said Mrs. Maryam Rajavi<\/a>, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in a speech delivered remotely to the Stockholm gathering. \u201cHe wanted to carry out the horrendous massacre in total silence. The plan for the killings in Tehran and dozens of other cities was designed such that no one would know about it.\u201d But Mrs. Rajavi went on to credit MEK-affiliated activists with continuing to collect evidence of the massacre, for the sake of raising its international profile and helping to set the stage for international prosecution of leading perpetrators, including Raisi.<\/p>\n The event in Washington was effectively headlined by Mike Pompeo<\/a>, who served as Secretary of State in the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \n \nPompeo also said, \u201cThe actions in 1979 were of course a key turning point. To understand Iran and its rightful place in history we must unpack what happened in 1979. I think this is why Iran will never return to rule by a dictatorial Shah or theocratic regime. This fight is the real fight and it began in those frightful first moments of the so-called revolution in 1979.\u201d Urging to hold Ebrahim Raisi accountable for the #1988Massacre<\/a>
\nThese talking points were rejected on the day of the speech not just by US officials but also by Iranian expatriates and ethnic Iranians throughout the world. The evening before Raisi\u2019s speech, the Organization of Iranian-American Communities held a conference in Washington, D.C. which condemned the Iranian president\u2019s participation in the General Assembly and highlighted his past involvement in human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. A similar event was held in Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday to underscore the organizers\u2019 appeals for Raisi to face accountability for his key role in the massacre<\/a> of over 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.
\nTehran\u2019s conscious disregard of the 1988 massacre has been reaffirmed on many occasions over the past 33 years, with Raisi\u2019s appointment to the presidency being among the clearest examples. In the run-up to his June 2021 \u201celection,\u201d Raisi was widely condemned by Iranian activists as the \u201chenchman of 1988\u201d \u2013 a label that was repeated by former Iranian political prisoners in this week\u2019s conferences. At the time of the massacre, Raisi was one of four officials to serve on the Tehran \u201cdeath commission<\/a>,\u201d a body that interrogated prisoners and ordered executions in Evin and Gohardasht Prisons and thus set the stage for similar proceedings in detention facilities throughout the country.<\/p>\n![\"US-conference-3\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/US-conference-3.jpg\" "\\"US-conference-3\\"")
\nPompeo<\/a> referred to the 1988 massacre and said, \u201cEbrahim Raisi, himself, is personally responsible for the mass execution of thousands of Iranian political prisoners, names of over 5,000 have been published. The bodies of these brave men and women were dumped in unmarked graves. And Because Iran has never, and likely under this regime will never allow an investigation into these killings, we do not know the true number of Iranians who were murdered. But it is almost certainly more than the 5,000 lists of names that we have.\u201d
\nHe also said, \u201cYou know this character Ebrahim Raisi is exactly who Khamenei wants as President \u2013 someone who will do his bidding. Someone willing to brutalize and slaughter the Iranian people at his command. This is not moving forward. It is moving backward. It is only those who are resisting, both inside and out, who provide hope for Iran. That is why this gathering and the work you do today is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nConcerning the path forward, Pompeo said, \u201cThe United States must lead the world, starting today, on this occasion, to hold him accountable for crimes against humanity that he committed Any dealings with Raisi, would be tantamount to dealing with a mass murderer. This is not only immoral but counterproductive. All of us should make this crystal clear to our allies in Europe and Asia as well and hold them accountable if they deal with this man that sent thousands of his country to execution in 1988.\u201d
\nThe content of Raisi\u2019s speech presumably reflects a strategy of quietly escalating tensions with the Western adversaries while simultaneously urging those adversaries to continue reaching out diplomatically. But participants in the Washington and Stockholm conferences warned American and European policymakers that such outreach would only embolden the Raisi administration\u2019s escalations, with consequences for international security as well as for the Iranian people.<\/p>\n\n
\nMaryam Rajavi: Raisi is a mass murderer. He does not represent the Iranian people and must face justice – Washington, D.C. – September 20, 2021 #ProsecuteRaisiNow<\/a> #UNGA<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/pRNaWwkXUA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qlnGmh4pJ8<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1.png\" "\\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-1\\""){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"