(Doc. No. 155)
Memorandum addressed to Mr. Nayyeri, the religious judge, Mr. Eshraqi, the prosecutor, Mr. Raissi, the deputy prosecutor, and Mr. Pour-Mohammadi, the Intelligence Ministry Representative in Evin Prison for implementation of the Imam decree
Date: August 15, 1988
In the Name of God, the Most High
1. I have received more blows from the Monafeqin [Mojahedin] than all of you, both in prison and outside. My son was martyred by them. If it were a question of revenge, I should pursue it more than you. But I seek the expediency and interests of the revolution, Islam, the Supreme Leader, and the Islamic state. I am worried about the judgment that posterity and history will pass upon us.
2. Such massacres without trial, particularly when the victims are prisoners and those in captivity, will definitely benefit them in the long run. The world will condemn us and they will be further encouraged to wage armed struggle. It is wrong to confront ideas and ideologies with killing.
3. Look at the behavior of Prophet [Mohammad] and how he treated his enemies after the conquest of Mecca and the Baffle of awaken. The Prophet showed mercy and amnesty and was given the tide of “the Mercy of both worlds” by the Almighty. Look how Imam Ah treated his enemies after defeating them in the Battle of Jamal.
4. Many of these people who are holding fast to their beliefs are doing so in reaction to the way they have been treated by interrogators and prison wardens, otherwise they might have been flexible.
5. To argue that if we released these prisoners, they would rejoin the Monafeqin [Mojahedin] is not sufficient to characterize them as Mohareb (waging war on God) and of having mutinied against God. Imam All did not punish Ibn Moljem (his assassin), before he actually carried out the crime, even Though he had said beforehand that he (Ibn Moljem) is my killer….
6. The beliefs of a person, per se, are not sufficient grounds to declare him as someone who is waging war on God or rebelling against the Almighty. Even if it is supposed that the [Mojahedin] leaders are renegades, their supporters cannot be given the same verdict.
7. Judgment must be made in an environment free of emotions. The social environment now is not conducive to justice due to sloganeering and propaganda. We are upset with the Monafeqin’s crime in the west, but are taking it out on prisoners and former prisoners. Executing people who have not carried out any new activities will cast doubt on previous judges and all previous judgments. According to which standard do you execute a prisoner whom you have previously given a lesser sentence? At present, prison visits and telephone calls have been discontinued, but how will you answer the families tomorrow?
8. I, more than anybody, care about the prestige of His Eminence the Imam as the Supreme Leader. I do not know how things are being presented to him. Should we say that all that we studied in Islamic jurisprudence about being cautious when dealing with people’s blood and properties were wrong?
9. I have met with a number of just and pious judges who were dismayed and
Complained about the way the decree is being implemented. They said there is too much extremism and cited numerous cases of people being executed without any reason.
10. In conclusion, the People’s Mojahedin are not individuals; they are an ideology and a world out took. They have a logic. It takes right logic to answer wrong logic. You cannot rectify wrong with killing; you only spread it.
Hossein-Ali Montazeri
Text of Montazeri’s letter to members of the “Death Cormmission “on August 15,1988 in which he warned about the repercusscions of summary executions of Mojahedin prisoners.
Mr. Islami, who was the revolutionary prosecutor in Fars province, came to see me with a file about the execution of a girl. He said: “I opposed her execution, but they executed her as they outnumbered me two to one.”
Hojjat ol-Islam Hossein-Ali Ansari, who was my representative in prisons, said: “There were six or seven brothers in one prison who were pious and said we turned away from the Monafeqin, but the authorities want us to recant on television and we refuse to do so, as this is a dishonorable thing for us… Prison officials said this showed that they were still supporting [the Mojahedin] and executed them. They only spared one of them, who had been paralyzed [in prison]. This is how things were being carried out.”
(Doc. No. 157)
Text of the letter to Khomeini by the religious judge of Islamic Revolutionary Courts in Khuzestan on the manner of implementation of his decree
Date: August 12, 1988
In the Name of God, the Most High
His Eminence Imam Khomeini,
With greetings, I would like to bring to your Eminence’s attention some points on the recent decree you issued with regard to the Monafeqin, even though I am much too humble to talk about this. But as my religious duty requires and in a bid to seek guidance, I wish to point out that the issue of whether a person is holding fast to his support for the Monafeqin is subject to different interpretations. Views and tastes vary between the extremes and I have brought detailed cases to the attention of Haj Ahmad and refrain from repeating them. As an example, in Dezful prison, several prisoners named Tahir Ranjbar, Mostafa Behzadi, Ahmad Assekh, and Mohammad Reza Ashou, were prepared to condemn the Monafeqin and even recant on radio and television or before other prisoners. But the Intelligence Ministry official asked them: “Are you prepared to fight for the Islamic Republic in the war or in the cities?” Some wavered and some said no. The intelligence official said they are still holding on to their positions, as they were not willing to fight for our just regime. I told the official, should we therefore say that the majority of the Iranian people who are not willing to go to the front are also supporters of the Monafeqin? He replied: “These people are different from ordinary folks.” The above-named prisoners were all executed, except the last one who managed to escape on the way to the execution yard. I therefore urge Your Eminence to clarify some uniform standards so that officials would not go to the extreme and commit mistakes.
Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi
Religious judge
Islamic Revolutionary Court in Khuzestan
CC: His Eminence Ayatollah Montazeri
