Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, September 17, 2021—Iran’s summer 1988 massacre has unfortunately been one of the most under-reported atrocities in modern history. Through the course of several months the mullahs’ regime ruling Iran sent over 30,000 political prisoners to the gallows, mostly members and supporters of the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Countless families across Iran were and remain devastated by the mass killing, now described by experts as a “crime against humanity” and “genocide.” Many families lost numerous loved ones and the regime, seeking to keep a lid on these atrocities, carried out the executions in horrific and hasty manner.
Ebrahim Khaksar, a political prisoner in Iran and now PMOI/MEK member, recalls how three of his family members, two cousins and a brother, were executed by the mullahs’ regime.
“Abbas Khaksar, my brother, was arrested in 1981 merely for supporting the MEK. He was in prison for three years. He was released only to be arrested again and then executed during the 1988 massacre of 1988,” Ebrahim explains, indicating the regime had no respect for any part of the Iranian society and specifically sought to execute all inmates who showed any sign of loyalty or continued support to the PMOI/MEK.
“We had heard of the massacre, hanging or shooting and burying the victims’ bodies in mass graves.
But news of Abbas’s execution was different. Abbas and his cellmates were buried alive. A relative, who had come from Iran, said that Abbas and the group of prisoners who had been taken to be executed, were buried alive in a mass grave and authorities had soil dumped on them with a bulldozer,” Ebrahim adds.
Along with Khavaran near the capital Tehran, numerous mass graves have been discovered throughout Iran over the years. This signals both the large number of political prisoners literally purged by the regime in the 1988 massacre, and the impetuous nature of the genocide. The regime needed to both kill and bury thousands upon thousands of political prisoners in the shortest amount of time possible.
Shocking testimonies of the survivors and family members of the 1988 massacre
Ebrahim Khaksar:
My brother, Abbas, and the group of prisoners who had been taken for the massacre were buried alive in a mass grave.#Iran #ProsecuteRaisiNOW #1988Massacre pic.twitter.com/q9jdhDhlY1— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 15, 2021
“Gholamreza Khaksar, my cousin, was the PMOI/MEK’s candidate running for parliament to represent the cities of Qasres-e-Shireen, Gilan-e-Garb, and Sar-e-pole Zahab during the 1980 parliamentary elections. He was arrested in 1981 in the city of Hamedan, and eventually executed by a firing squad,” Ebrahim adds in his remarks, making it crystal clear that the regime had no tolerance of any PMOI/MEK members remaining alive, let alone entering their so-called parliament.
“My other cousin, Jahanbakhsh Khaksar, who was arrested in 1981 merely for possessing a MEK publication. He was placed behind bars for three years in Diesel Abad Prison of Kermanshah (western Iran). Jahanbakhsh was released eventually thanks to his family’s endless efforts. Based on the evidence obtained, he was poisoned by the regime before his release and his body was literally thrown in front of his family’s residence. I was present at the scene and witnessed it myself,” Ebrahim continued.
This is in line with many other reports of regime authorities resorting to such inhumane measures to torture not only the targeted political prisoner but also their families and families, thus sending a message to an entire community to think twice about opposing the mullahs’ dictatorship.
“On that day all our relatives and friends were celebrating the news of Jahanbakh’s release from prison. Everyone was very happy, and the family had invited us for his home welcoming. But suddenly, we heard that that his half-dead body was found on the ground in the middle of the neighborhood near the family home. We placed him inside a car and, unfortunately, he died before we reached a hospital. When we informed his elderly parents, his mother and my mother’s cries and the cries of his sisters immediately turned the celebration into a scene of heartbreaking mourning… His father had a heart attack as he could not bear the pain. He died just a few years later,” his memoires further depict the horrific atrocities that families of Iran’s political prisoners have endured during these past four decades.
Regime President Ebrahim Raisi is best known for his direct role in Iran’s summer 1988 massacre, being one of the main members of the mullahs’ notorious “Death Commissions” responsible for determining the fates of each political prisoner during the massacre in kangaroo trials that lasted mere minutes. All political prisoner showing signs of loyalty to the PMOI/MEK in any way were immediately sentenced to certain death.
Raisi and other regime officials have committed genocide and crimes against humanity and should be held accountable in international tribunals. The world community should not provide these criminals any kind of legitimacy and instead, choose to stand alongside the Iranian people in their ongoing struggle to reach justice.
