With the death of Iranian regime president Ebrahim Raisi, the issue of the 1988 massacre and the justice-seeking movement has resurfaced in parliaments and public opinion.
On May 21, Mehr News agency wrote, “The enemies and ill-wishers of the Islamic system beat their drums joyfully and expressed satisfaction with this disaster. The reasons for the enemies’ happiness are numerous, but one of the points they emphasize a lot is Ayatollah Raisi’s role in the issue of the execution of the hypocrites [PMOI] in the 1980s; an issue on which the [regime supreme leader Ali] Khamenei also emphasized the need for a correct explanation and analysis of that era so that the roles of ‘executioner’ and ‘martyr’ are not reversed.”
The regime’s television also reflected the anger of the regime and said: “From the very day that Raisi was nominated for the presidential elections in 2017, a group came out opposing him… they came and gave him titles and said that he had a role in the execution of the Mojahedin… now they have issued statements and Maryam Rajavi has spoken.”
The regime’s television does not say anything about the content of the statement of Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of resistance of Iran (NCRI). But The Daily Express wrote on May 20, “Following the death of Raisi, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said: ‘This represents a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime, notorious for its executions and massacres.’”
Other media and news agencies across the globe also reported this five-word warning.
Agence France-Presse: Raisi’s death “represents a monumental and irreparable strategic blow to the mullahs’ supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the entire regime, notorious for its executions and massacres”, NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi said in a statement.
NBC News: “Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran based in Paris, said in a statement: ‘It will trigger a series of repercussions and crises within theocratic tyranny, which will spur rebellious youths into action.’”
The Telegraph: “NCRI leader Maryam Rajavi said that ‘the curse of mothers and those seeking justice for the executed, along with the damnation of the Iranian people and history, mark the legacy of Ebrahim Raisi, the notorious perpetrator of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.’”
themedialine: “Maryam Rajavi, the most prominent Iranian opposition figure, said on her X account, ‘The death of Ibrahim Raisi, the head of the mullahs’ regime, is a heavy strategic blow that cannot be compensated for by Khamenei and the entire system of executions and massacres. A series of crises is affecting the entire religious tyranny.’”