Iran: Mullahs destroying Khavaran mass graves of 1988 political prisoners

Reporting by PMOI/MEK

Iran, April 26, 2021—In an inhuman crime, the clerical regime ruling Iran is destroying the Khavaran cemetery in Tehran, one of several sites where the regime secretly buried thousands of political prisoners executed during a mass purge of Iran’s prisons in 1988.

With this despicable act, the regime seeks to cover up all traces of one of the worst crimes against humanity in modern history. This is especially concerning as the issue of the 1988 massacre has been raised by various international right groups, including six United Nations human rights experts issuing a detailed letter in September 2020 demanding clarity on the fate of thousands of Iranian political prisoners executed in 1988.

In recent days, the regime even forced many from the minority Bahai community to bury their loved ones in Khavaran, which they strongly refused.

Destroying the mass graves of the 1988 massacre martyrs with the intention to cover up all remaining evidence of that horrific crime is a tactic known to be used by regime for years now. In previous cases, the regime destroyed similar mass graves sites of the 1988 massacre victims in various cities such as Ahvaz, Tabriz, and Mashhad.

In 2017, regime authorities destroyed the martyrs’ graves in Behesht-e Reza Cemetery in the city of Mashhad and Vadi Rahmat Cemetery in Tabriz.

In September 2020, authorities destroyed a mass grave site in the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan province, southwest Iran. Local officials sought to construct a road over this area in an obvious attempt to destroy and literally bury evidence of its horrendous crime against humanity.

Maryam Rajavi, President of the Iranian opposition coalition National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), strongly condemned the regime’s inhuman destruction of the 1988 massacre victims’ mass graves in Tehran’s Khavaran Cemetery.

Madam Rajavi urged the UN Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, and international human rights organizations to take immediate action to stop the destruction of the martyrs’ graves and prevent the regime from pressuring Iran’s Bahai community.

“One of the most harmful consequences of the policy of appeasement was providing impunity to the ruling murderers, whose crimes started in the early 1980s, reached new heights during the 1988 Massacre and have continued to this day,” Madam Rajavi underscored.

Urge #UN Sec. Gen, HR High Commissioner, HR Council and Int’l HR orgs to take immediate action to stop the destruction of the martyrs’ graves and prevent pressuring Bahai’s. #Iran

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 24, 2021

In October 2020, Amnesty International warned in a statement about the destruction of mass graves related to the 1988 massacre.

Referring to a report of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Amnesty International declared: “The international community must ensure that the geographical coordinates and information related to mass graves are identified and documented by a well-organized global procedure.”

“The purpose of these illegal acts is not only to prevent the handover of the remains to the families but also to block the path of litigation and judicial justice for the 1988 victims,” Amnesty International added.