Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
(Chairman of the House Democratic caucus)
Message to 2020 Free Iran Summit
June 17-20, 2020
Thank you to the Summit for Free Iran, and I join your call in denouncing the Iranian regime’s terrorism, human rights abuses, nuclear ambitions and suppression of religious freedom. I support the democratic aspirations of the people of Iran and we stand with you until you are able to obtain the freedom and liberty that all human beings deserve.
Chairman @RepJeffries Message to #FreeIran2020 Summit: "Thank you to the Summit for Free Iran, and I join your call in denouncing the Iranian regime’s terrorism, human rights abuses, nuclear ambitions and suppression of religious freedom." https://t.co/oLwhPgsq9R
Following the Iranian judicial authorities’ confirmation that on 8 July, a man in the city of Mashhad was executed following repeated convictions for drinking alcohol, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director of Middle East and North Africa, said:
“The Iranian authorities have once again laid bare the sheer cruelty and inhumanity of their judicial system by executing a man simply for drinking alcohol. The victim was the latest person to be executed in Valkalibad prison, the site of numerous secret mass executions and a grotesque theatre of Iran’s contempt for human life.
The Iranian authorities have once again laid bare the sheer cruelty and inhumanity of their judicial system by executing a man simply for drinking alcohol. The victim was the latest person to be executed in Valkalibad prison, the site of numerous secret mass executions and a grotesque theatre of Iran’s contempt for human life
Diana Eltahawy
“We deplore the Iranian authorities’ repeated use of the death penalty, which has earned it the shameful status of the world’s second most prolific executioner. There is no justification for the death penalty which is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and we urge the Iranian authorities to abolish it.”
Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, consumption of alcoholic beverages is punishable by 80 lashes, and if an individual is convicted and sentenced three times, the punishment on the fourth occasion is death.
We deplore the Iranian authorities’ repeated use of the death penalty, which has earned it the shameful status of the world’s second most prolific executioner.
Diana Eltahawy
A 55-year-old, Mortaza Jamali, was named as the victim of the execution in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan province, in reports by independent media outlets and on social media. At the time of writing, Amnesty International had not yet been able to obtain more information about the details of his trial and sentencing.
In response to public outrage over the execution, the department of justice in Razavi Khorasan province issued an official statement today, listing the man’s criminal record from previous cases unrelated to his death sentence, in what appears to be a crude attempt to “justify” his execution.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. Amnesty International recorded at least 251 executions in Iran in 2019 in its annual Death Penalty report.
As the US special representative for Iran, I receive complaints regularly about Voice of America’s Persian service. Iranian viewers say its American taxpayer-funded programming often sounds more like the “Voice of the mullahs” than the “Voice of America.”
VOA Persian needs to do a better job of countering Iranian disinformation and propaganda. This is a priority for the Trump administration, because supporting the Iranian people includes giving them access to independent and truthful reporting.
Voice of America was founded in 1942 to communicate US policies to a global audience. VOA’s congressionally funded Persian News Network received more than $17 million in taxpayer funds last year. But VOA is failing to represent America to Iran with fact-based content that is reliable and authoritative.
And it isn’t just the Persian service. This month, President Trump highlighted serious concerns with VOA’s coverage of COVID-19, because it became an echo chamber for Chinese propaganda and disinformation.
The president is only the latest person to voice frustrations with VOA programming. The nonpartisan American Foreign Policy Council in 2017 conducted an independent assessment of VOA’s Persian programming. It found bias in its reporting, noting that VOA’s Persian coverage of Iran’s foreign policy “perpetuated to audiences the appearance of pro-regime propaganda, rather than objective reporting.” A follow-up analysis by the AFPC in 2019 found that many of the recommendations it made in 2017 were not implemented.
In 2014, a group of congressional representatives from both sides of the aisle called for an investigation into VOA Persian after allegations that it deliberately papered over the regime’s brutal human rights record.
I hear regularly about popular shows being suddenly canceled and replaced with lower quality programming that is less engaging and relevant. I was also disturbed to see that during the historic anti-regime protests last November, which left up to 1,500 Iranians dead, VOA Persian aired nature documentaries. VOA has certainly failed to present incisive and independent coverage of the Iranian regime itself.
One employee of VOA Persian told The Wall Street Journal that the network often refuses to air criticism of Iranian regime terror unless it is “balanced with the perspective of the Islamic Republic who vehemently [deny] any involvement.” Covering Iranian regime terrorism should not be conditioned upon regime hacks being available to lie about the terrorism.
Everyone knows the Iranian regime heavily censors news and information. The regime often imprisons journalists for telling the truth, then denies them their basic rights, like access to medical care or fair trials. The non-profit Reporters Without Borders routinely condemns the Islamic Republic for its assault against the free press. In February, it exposed Iranian officials who cracked down against the media for telling the truth about Iran’s COVID-19 outbreak and debunking the regime’s propaganda.
Now more than ever, the Iranian people need unbiased news. Regrettably, VOA Persian is letting them down. It is failing to effectively communicate US policies to Persian-speaking audiences with the balance and accuracy required in a contested information environment, especially with the regime’s sophisticated disinformation campaigns.
There is also widespread mismanagement at the organization. VOA Persian has failed to create an open and transparent workplace, a problem that has persisted for more than a decade. A 2009 government report found widespread employee dissatisfaction at VOA Persian, along with allegations of favoritism and biased hiring.
The report’s findings then could just as easily apply today, based on feedback from current and former employees, many of whom have taken their concerns public. VOA and the agency that oversees it, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), are regularly ranked by their employees in confidential surveys as among the worst federal agencies to work for.
The American people deserve to have taxpayer-funded programs advance their interests, and VOA Persian is no exception. Here is what can be done to improve its reach and effectiveness.
First, VOA Persian needs to create more original programming that actually resonates with Iranian audiences. The earlier example of showing nature documentaries while protests raged across Iran is just one instance of VOA Persian’s programming missing the mark. In 2009, when the Green Revolution contested the presidential elections, VOA Persian continued its regular programming until three days into the post-election crisis. VOA Persian should be driving the conversation with content that is timely, relevant and reliably truthful.
Second, VOA Persian’s leadership needs to be more responsive and accountable. A start would be for USAGM to have a Senate-confirmed leader in place. Michael Pack was nominated to run the agency in June 2018, but his confirmation has languished needlessly in the Senate. Pack is the former head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and has served on the National Council of the Humanities. He is qualified for the position and should be confirmed by the Senate.
VOA Persian has the potential to be a critical tool to empower the Iranian people with news and information otherwise denied to them by the mullahs. Iranians suffer from heavily censored media; what they need is accurate and honest reporting. VOA Persian should be driving the news about human rights in Iran, corruption among the Iranian regime and analysis that counters propaganda rather than propagating it. If it can’t meet these standards — and soon — Congress should consider ending its funding and shutting down VOA Persian as a fiduciary duty to American taxpayers.
Brian Hook is the US special representative for Iran and a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Washington—Today, an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives called on the Trump Administration to extend the United Nations arms embargo on Iran, which is set to expire in October of this year. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot L. Engel and Ranking Member Michael T. McCaul, Representative Stephanie Murphy, and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick led a group of 387 members encouraging robust diplomacy to prevent the expiration of the embargo and of U.N. travel restrictions on Iranians engaged in proliferation activities. The group of members—more than three quarters of the House—underscored that permitting Iran to buy and sell weapons would pose a grave risk to security and stability around the world.
Chairman Engel said, “The U.N. arms embargo will be the first provision of the Iran nuclear deal to expire. This letter, supported overwhelmingly by both parties in the House, represents an imperative to reauthorize this provision—not through snapback or going it alone, but through a careful diplomatic campaign. The Trump Administration has promised a better deal and it falls to the administration to solve this crisis, not make it worse. Iran continues to be a danger to the United States, our interests, and our allies. We need a realistic and practical strategy to prevent Iran from becoming a greater menace.”
Ranking Member McCaul said, “Nearly every member of the U.S. House of Representatives is in agreement: Iran must not be allowed to buy or sell weapons. This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue, or even just an American issue. We need to extend the U.N. arms embargo on Iran for the sake of international peace and security. I am proud the House is speaking with one voice to protect the world against Iran’s aggressive and destabilizing behavior.”
Representative Murphy said, “Preventing the regime in Tehran from buying and selling weapons is critical for U.S. national security and for the security of U.S. allies and partners in the greater Middle East. We all look forward to the time when Iran will become a responsible member of the community of nations. Until then, we must take all reasonable steps at the national and international level to curb Iranian aggression.”
Representative Fitzpatrick said, “Time and time again, Iran has shown that they cannot be trusted. Their efforts to destabilize the region and the world will only increase if we do not extend the U.N. embargo. Iran must be prohibited from buying and selling weapons, and moreover, we must prevent Iran from increasing their influence in the region. I am proud to lead a bipartisan coalition on this urgent issue, and I am encouraged to see so many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle add their voice in support of this critical national security matter.”
Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned.
In recent days, thousands of prisoners in at least eight prisons around the country have staged protests over fears of contracting the coronavirus, sparking deadly responses from prison officers and security forces.
In several prisons, live ammunition and tear gas were used to suppress protests, killing around 35 prisoners and injuring hundreds of others, according to credible sources. In at least one prison, security forces beat those taking part in the protest action, possibly leading to the death of an inmate.
“It is abhorrent that instead of responding to prisoners’ legitimate demands to be protected from COVID-19, Iranian authorities have yet again resorted to killing people to silence their concerns,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director of Middle East and North Africa.
“An independent investigation into the torture and deaths in custody is urgently needed with a view to bringing to justice those found responsible.
“Security forces must be instructed to immediately cease the use of unlawful lethal force, and to refrain from punishing prisoners calling for their right to health.”
It is abhorrent that instead of responding to prisoners’ legitimate demands to be protected from COVID-19, Iranian authorities have yet again resorted to killing people to silence their concerns
Diana Eltahawy
Amnesty International is also calling on Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners held solely for peacefully exercising their rights. Despite some initial releases, the Iranian authorities have failed to release the vast majority of prisoners of conscience, hundreds of whom remain in prison. The authorities should also consider releasing prisoners held in pre-trial detention or those who may be more at risk from the virus.
Prison protests during COVID-19 pandemic
In recent weeks, prisoners and their families have been raising the alarm that the Iranian authorities have failed to sufficiently protect the prison population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Independent media and human rights organizations have reported that inmates from several prisons have tested positive for the virus. Consequently, many prisoners have staged hunger strikes in protest at the authorities’ failure to respond to their demands for releases, testing in prisons, provision of adequate sanitary products and facilities, and the quarantining of prisoners suspected of infection.
Killing of prisoners
On 30 March and 31 March, according to independent sources including prisoners’ families, security forces used excessive force to quell protests in Sepidar prison and Sheiban prison in the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan province. The head of the police force in Khuzestan province admitted that members of the Revolutionary Guards and the paramilitary Basij force suppressed the protests after some inmates set rubbish bins on fire.
The protests in Sepidar prison appear to have started after authorities reneged on earlier promises to release prisoners who the authorities do not have specific security concerns about as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Numerous videos taken from outside both prisons and shared on social media show smoke rising from the buildings, while sounds of gunfire and screams can be heard.
Reports from families of prisoners, as well as journalists and Ahwazi Arab human rights activists and organizations, suggest that security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to end the protests in Sepidar prison, causing injuries and up to 15 deaths.
Relatives of a prisoner killed in Sepidar prison told Amnesty International, upon condition of anonymity, that several days after the protests, they were called by a member of the police force and instructed to collect the dead body of their loved one. The police claimed he had died from a drug overdose, even though the family insists he had never used drugs. The authorities have refused to provide the family with a death certificate or with any other written confirmation of the cause of death. As the deceased prisoner had no pre-existing medical conditions, his family suspect he died as a result of inhaling tear gas during the protest.
In Sheiban prison, journalists and activists reported that after the unrest was contained by security forces, prisoners who took part in the protests were stripped and beaten in the courtyard of the prison. Around 20 prisoners were killed by security forces, according to reports from prisoners’ families, journalists and Ahwazi Arab human rights activists and organizations.
Minority rights activist Mohammad Ali Amouri and several others were transferred out of Sheiban prison following the unrest and are still being held incommunicado in an unknown location. Amnesty International fears they may be at risk of torture.
Teenager on death row killed
Danial Zeinolabedini, who was on death row for a crime committed when he was under the age of 18, also died under suspicious circumstances in the past week. He had been taking part in the protests in Mahabad prison, West Azerbaijan province, when he was transferred to Mianboad prison in the same province, on 30 March. Danial Zeinolabedini called his family in distress on 31 March to say he had been severely beaten by prison guards and to beg them for help.
On 3 April, his family received a call from the authorities claiming that he had committed suicide and ordering them to collect his body. However, his family has disputed this claim, stating that his lifeless body was covered in bruises and cuts. Amnesty International has reviewed a photograph of Danial Zeinolabedini’s body and believes it shows signs that are consistent with torture.
Iranians need assistance in the fight against coronavirus, but their government can’t be trusted with money.
Talk about theocratic temerity. The regime in Tehran is calling on the International Monetary Fund to “stand on the right side of history” by giving Iran $5 billion to fight the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the first time the Islamic Republic has sought financial aid from the multilateral institution. (The last time Iran asked was 20 years before the 1979 revolution.)
For the international community — and for the U.S., which has effective veto power on IMF decisions — this presents a quandary: The Iranian people definitely need the help, but their leaders can’t be trusted with the money.
The Islamic Republic is the third-worst hit country after China and Italy, with 429 people dead. The regime has manifestly failed to manage the crisis. In the first phase, the leadership lied about the extent of the outbreak, and made a series of decisions that only aggravated the contagion.
Clearly, the world can’t stand by while Iran suffers. But it’s not at all clear that giving the regime $5 billion will mitigate these problems.
For one thing, the Iranians continue to dissimulate about the crisis: everything, from statistical logic to satellite images of massive grave sites, suggests it is worse than Tehran is prepared to admit. Although several well-known political and religious figures have contracted the virus, there remains a remarkable lack of seriousness on the subject among the leadership. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claims the virus is a biological weapon aimed at the Islamic Republic.
Others in the Iranian government blame the contagion on the standard dog-ate-my-homework excuse for all regime failings: American economic sanctions. This is nonsense. It was President Hassan Rouhani, not Donald Trump, who prevented authorities from locking down the city of Qom when the outbreak first occurred there. No American restrictions required Iranian airlines to keep operating flights to and from China long after other countries had stopped doing so. And while the Trump administration may be underplaying the coronavirus scare in the U.S., it did not compel Iranian hospitals to conceal data.
It’s worth remembering that the regime hasn’t allowed the economic sanctions to stop its support of the genocidal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which runs into billions of dollars. Nor is Tehran too hard-up to keep its many proxy militias and terrorist groups across the Middle East in cigarettes and rockets, to the tune of $16 billion.
Given the regime’s well-established propensities, there is reason to fear that large proportions of any financial aid to fight the virus will either be diverted to the likes of Hezbollah and Hamas, or line the commodious pockets of klepto-theocrats like Khamenei.
The solution, then, is to give the regime all manner of help, without giving it any money directly.
First, any assistance should be conditional on Iran allowing multilateral agencies such as the World Health Organization take charge of the fight against the virus. Having badly bungled its own efforts, it can hardly argue that Iranians should be in charge.
The IMF should then create, with American blessings, a $5 billion fund, strictly for use by these multilateral agencies. The money can pay for medical equipment and supplies, and expenses linked to any non-Iranian personnel required for the effort.
Tehran should keep paying for its own medical staff. It can also use the recently-opened Swiss banking channel to import additional humanitarian supplies as necessary.
This arrangement may be the best way to get help to Iranians without enabling the worst instincts of their leaders. There may still be some room for the regime to misuse non-cash assistance — we should not be surprised to discover Hezbollah flogging ventilators on the black market, for instance. But at least, the IMF will be able to argue, in good faith, that it is “on the right side of history.”
An investigation by Amnesty International has uncovered evidence that at least 23 children were killed by Iranian security forces in the nationwide protests in November last year.
At least 22 of the children were shot dead by Iranian security forces unlawfully firing live ammunition at unarmed protesters and bystanders, according to the findings.
“In recent months an increasingly gruesome picture has emerged of the extent to which Iranian security forces unlawfully used lethal force to crush last year’s nationwide protests. However, it is still devastating to learn that the number of children who fell victim to this brutality is so shockingly high,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
There must be independent and impartial investigations into these killings, and those suspected of ordering and carrying them out must be prosecuted in fair trials
Philip Luther
“There must be independent and impartial investigations into these killings, and those suspected of ordering and carrying them out must be prosecuted in fair trials.”
Amnesty International has gathered evidence from videos and photographs, as well as death and burial certificates, accounts from eyewitnesses and victims’ relatives, friends and acquaintances on the ground, and information gathered from human rights activists and journalists.
In 10 cases, Amnesty International learned from the description of injuries on the death or burial certificates it reviewed, or information from credible sources, that the deaths occurred as a result of gunshots to the head or torso – indicating that the security forces were shooting to kill.
In two of the cases, burial certificates set out in detail the devastating impact on the children’s bodies. One cited injuries including bleeding, a crushed brain and a shattered skull. The other indicated that the cause of the death was extensive internal bleeding, and a pierced heart and lung.
In one child’s case, there are conflicting reports on the cause of death, with one referring to fatal head injuries sustained by beatings by security forces and another referring to the firing of metal pellets at the victim’s face from a close distance.
Twelve of the 23 deaths recorded by Amnesty International took place on 16 November, a further eight on 17 November, and three on 18 November. The protests started on 15 November.
The 23 children are recorded as having been killed in 13 cities in six provinces across the country (Esfahan, Fars, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Kurdistan and Tehran), reflecting the widespread nature of the bloody crackdown.
“The fact that the vast majority of the children’s deaths took place over just two days is further evidence that Iranian security forces went on a killing spree to quash dissent at any cost,” said Philip Luther.
“As the Iranian authorities have refused to open independent, impartial and effective investigations, it is imperative that member states of the UN Human Rights Council mandate an inquiry into the killings of protesters and bystanders, including these children, in the November protests.”
On 25 February, Amnesty International wrote to Iran’s Minister of Interior Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to provide him with the list of the names of the 23 children recorded as killed, along with their ages and places of death, and to seek the authorities’ comments on the circumstances of their death. As of 3 March, the organization had received no response.
State cover-up and harassment
Amnesty International spoke to relatives of some the children killed who described being subjected to harassment and intimidation, including surveillance and interrogations by intelligence and security officials. At least one family received veiled death threats against their surviving children, and were warned that “something horrible” would also happen to them if they spoke out.
This corresponds with a broader issue where families of those killed in protests are being intimidated by the state from talking openly about their deaths. Most have reported being forced to sign undertakings that they would not speak to the media, and observe restrictions on how they commemorate their loved ones in order to be able to receive their bodies. In many cases, security and intelligence officials have placed the families under surveillance, and attended their funeral and memorial ceremonies in order to ensure that the restrictions are observed.
Families of children killed also reported being forced to bury them quickly in the presence of security and intelligence officials, thereby preventing them from seeking an independent autopsy. Such conduct appears aimed at suppressing incriminating evidence.
In general, Amnesty International’s research has found that the families of those killed in protests have been consistently excluded from autopsies undertaken by the state forensic institute and denied access to information on the circumstances of their deaths, including details of the ammunition that killed them and the weapon that fired it.
In some cases, officials washed and prepared the bodies of victims for burial without notifying their families and then handed them the bodies, wrapped in shrouds, just minutes before the scheduled burial. Amnesty International understands that in these cases, security and intelligence officials generally sought to prevent families from pulling back the shrouds to see the bodies of their loved ones. As a result, some families say they were not able to see the impact of injuries.
In other cases, authorities have also refused to hand over the belongings of the victims to their relatives, including their phones, raising suspicions that they worried these contained evidence of unlawful actions by the state.
As if the loss of their loved ones was not cruel enough an experience to bear, families of children killed during the protests are facing a ruthless campaign of harassment to intimidate them from speaking out
Philip Luther
“As if the loss of their loved ones was not cruel enough an experience to bear, families of children killed during the protests are facing a ruthless campaign of harassment to intimidate them from speaking out,” said Philip Luther.
“The authorities also seem to be desperate to prevent bereaved relatives finding out the full truth about the killings, and getting hold of evidence that would incriminate those responsible. This bears all the hallmarks of a state cover-up.”
Background
Protests erupted in Iran on 15 November 2019 following a sudden government announcement about a fuel price hike. According to credible reports compiled by Amnesty International, at least 304 people were killed and thousands injured between 15 and 18 November as authorities crushed the protests using lethal force. During and following the protests, the Iranian authorities arbitrarily detained thousands of detainees and subjected some to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment.
Sixteen independent UN human rights experts called on Friday for the release of arbitrarily detained protesters in Iran who have allegedly been abused while in custody.
We are “deeply disturbed that the reported use of excessive force by the Iranian security forces led to an untold number of casualties, including deaths”, the experts said in a statement.
After the Government announced a new fuel policy in November, some 200,000 people took to the streets in protests. Official sources state that at least 7,000 were arrested and thousands remain in custody.
“Reports suggest that detainees are being tortured or are suffering other forms of ill-treatment, sometimes to extract forced confessions”, the experts continued.
Some are also reportedly being “denied medical treatment, including for injuries caused by the security forces’ use of excessive force”, and are being held in overcrowded detention centres, they asserted, adding that some are being held “incommunicado or subjected to enforced disappearances.”
The experts feared that detainees would be denied the right to a fair trial because of the country’s failure to adhere to due process standards, especially for those who have voiced opposition to the Government.
Forced confessions
Against the backdrop that senior officials threatened the protesters with severe punishment, the independent experts explained that they had already seen State television broadcast “so-called ‘confessions’, despite claims that these are being obtained under duress”.
Many detainees are also reportedly being denied the right to a lawyer of their choosing.
“We urge the Government and the judiciary to ensure that all those accused of crimes go through court proceedings that adhere to international fair trial standards, including the presumption of innocence”, the experts spelled out.
According to credible sources, at least 304 people, including 12 children, were confirmed dead during the protests, with unverified reports indicating that the total could be over 400 – and figures are particularly high in provinces with large ethnic minority populations.
“Reports and footage indicate that Iranian security forces not only fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters, but also aimed at their heads and vital organs”, the experts said, pointing out that targeting these body parts “shows that the security forces were aiming to kill or at least cause serious injury”.
Moreover, they said the Quds City governor admitted publicly that she ordered the shooting of some protesters by security forces, who entered the governor’s building.
We urge the Government and the judiciary to ensure that all those accused of crimes go through court proceedings that adhere to international fair trial standards — UN experts
“Extremely disturbed” that the authorities would use these tactics against peaceful protesters, it signifies a “breach of international standards on the use of force”, they maintained.
Remain silent
They found “most disturbing” that the families of those killed by security forces “have allegedly been threatened not to speak out”.
And Iranian journalists have been “ordered not to criticise the Government response”, while relatives of Farsi-language news journalists abroad are being pressured “to silence their reporting”.
Echoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, they called for the Government to hold prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of rights violations, including protesters’ deaths.
The UN experts have previously raised their concerns with the Government and will continue to do so while monitoring the situation.
Independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. Their positions are honorary and they are not paid for their work.
OIAC Iran Human Rights Exhibition & Vigil on Capitol Hill
On September 12, 2019 on the Lawn of the U.S Capitol, senior members of Congress joined Iranian Americans at an exhibit which concluded with a candle light vigil to expose Iranian regime officials & condemn their continued role in crimes against humanity, including the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners. Event called on the international community to hold Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani, Judiciary Chief Ibrahim Raissi, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and other regime officials accountable for complicity in and cover up of this crime against humanity.
As addressed in the House Resolution (H.Res. 188) in 115th Congress, “the massacre was carried out pursuant to a fatwa, or religious decree, issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that targeted the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK);
In his remarks, Chairman Elliot Engel (D-NY) said, “when you stand here and you look as far as the eye can go and you realize that all these good looking young people who were murdered by the murderers and Iranian regime in Tehran.” Chairman Engel reiterated the event’s call to action and added, “what is so disgraceful, if that was not enough, we find that many of the people who were responsible for massacre of these beautiful young people here, are the very people who have high positions in the Iranian regime today.” Pointing to bipartisan support for a free Iran, Rep. Engel said, “As the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I want to tell you that on both sides of the aisle, democratic and republican, we support Iranian freedom and I am here to tell you that in person.”
Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) called for an official U.N. inquiry into the mass killings in Iran and said, “The massacre of 1988 needs to be investigated, justice needs to be brought in some way, and justice brought in some way by the United Nations and the United States, in terms of bringing it to light and condemning actions of Iran and crimes against humanity.”
Congressman Juan Vargas, member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee also attended at the event. In his remarks he said. “I am here to pay my deepest respects to those who were massacred and to those who continue to struggle for the rights that they deserve. And I hope that things will change and change soon in Iran.”
In December 2018, Amnesty International published a comprehensive report on the said massacre, labeling it an “ongoing crime against humanity” and urged the U.N. to take action. The “ongoing” designation of this crime, AI said, was based on the fact that “perpetrators have remained key figures in the regime’s leadership.” For the first time, the United Nations Secretary General also addressed this crime in his 2018 annual report. During 115th Congress, nearly 100 bipartisan members of Congress cosponsored House Resolution 188, condemning Iranian regime for forcibly disappearing 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, and calling for justice for its victims. Also in the 115th Congress, the House unanimously passed H.R.4744 – with it condemning the 1988 mass killings in Iran.
On September 12, 2019, Iranian Americans will participate in the “Iran: 1988 Massacre, Ongoing Human Rights Violations” rally, vigil, and photo exhibition on the grounds (Area #10) of U.S. Capitol. We urge you to attend this exhibition, and help our community save lives of the innocent in Iran and hold accountable, the religious despots who are committing these atrocities.
1988 Massacre-Background
In the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime summarily and extra-judicially executed tens of thousands of political prisoners held in jails across Iran. The massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by the regime’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
The facts:
More than 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in Iran in the summer of 1988.
The massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by Khomeini.
The vast majority of the victims were activists of the opposition PMOI (MEK).
A Death Committee approved all the death sentences.
Alireza Avaei, a member of the Death Committee, is today Hassan Rouhani’s Justice Minister.
The perpetrators of the 1988 massacre have never been brought to justice.
On August 9, 2016, an audio tape was published for the first time of Khomeini’s former heir acknowledging that that massacre took place and had been ordered at the highest levels.
The Montazeri Tape
On August 9, 2016, relatives of Hossein-Ali Montazeri, Khomeini’s former heir, published a shocking audio tape in which Montazeri can be heard telling a meeting of members of the “Death Committee” 28 years ago (August 15, 1988) that they are carrying out a crime against humanity. The Montazeri tape revealed new information about the scope and breadth of the massacre of political prisoners at the time. It has sent shockwaves in Iran and in particular among the regime’s officials who had for more than two decades attempted to impose an absolute silence on the massacre.
The clip also showed that the Iranian regime’s leaders who held positions of power since the beginning of the regime’s establishment must face justice for committing one of the most horrific crimes against humanity.
In the audio tape, Hossein-Ali Montazeri, who was subsequently dismissed as the heir by Khomeini, for these very remarks, tells members of the “death commission”, Hossein-Ali Nayyeri, the regime’s sharia judge, Morteza Eshraqi, the regime’s prosecutor, Ebrahim Raeesi, deputy prosecutor, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, representative of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), “The greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you. Your (names) will in the future be etched in the annals of history as criminals.” He adds, “Executing these people while there have been no new activities (by the prisoners) means that … the entire judicial system has been at fault.”
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the audio recording as a historical document. She said the recording attested in the strongest possible manner both to the Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) political prisoners’ rejection of surrender and to their admirable allegiance to, and perseverance in, their commitment to the Iranian people. The recording is also irrefutable evidence that leaders of the mullahs’ regime are responsible for crimes against humanity and the unprecedented genocide, Mrs. Rajavi said.
There are strong indications that Khomeini’s fatwa, which led to the massacre of some 30,000 political prisoners in Iran, was issued on July 26, 1988.
The Iranian regime has never acknowledged these executions, or provided any information as to how many prisoners were killed.
The majority of those executed were either serving prison sentences for their political activities or had already finished their sentences but were still kept in prison.
Some of them had previously been imprisoned and released, but were again arrested and executed during the massacre. The wave of massacre of political prisoners began in late July and continued unabated for several months.
Mass executions of prisoners in 1988 begins with Khomeini’s death decree
In the final phases of the Iran-Iraq war, Khomeini who felt that defeat was imminent, decided to take his revenge on the political prisoners. He issued fatwas (religious decrees) ordering the
execution of anyone who had not “repented” and who was not willing to collaborate entirely with the regime.
The massacres began, and everyday hundreds of political prisoners were hanged and their corpses were buried hurriedly in mass graves all over major cities, in particular Tehran.
Khomeini decreed: “Whoever at any stage continues to belong to the Monafeqin (the regime’s derogatory term to describe the PMOI/MEK) must be executed. Annihilate the enemies of Islam immediately.” He went on to add: “… Those who are in prisons throughout the country and remain steadfast in their support for the MEK/PMOI are waging war on God and are condemned to
execution… It is naive to show mercy to those who wage war on God
Text of Montazeri’s letter to Khomeini on July 31, 1988, complaining that mass execution of Mojahedin (PMOI/MEK) prisoners would only enhance their legitimacy and popular appeal.
God.”
“Death Committee” of 1988 massacre of political prisoners
Khomeini assigned an “Amnesty Commission” for prisons. In reality it was a “Death Committee” comprised of the three individuals: A representative of the Ministry of Intelligence, a religious judge and a prosecutor. The final decision rested with the Intelligence Ministry official. They held a trial for a few minutes that resembled more of an integration session. The questions were focused on whether the inmate continued to have any allegiances to the PMOI (MEK). The PMOI prisoners made up more than 90 percent of those taken before the “Death Commission.” If the prisoners were not willing to collaborate totally with the regime against the PMOI, it was viewed as a sign of sympathy to the organization and the sentence was immediate execution. The task of the Death Commission was to determine whether a prisoner was a so-called “Enemy of God” or not. In the case of Mojahedin prisoners, that determination was often made after only a single question about their party affiliation. Those who said “Mojahedin” rather than the derogatory “Monafeqin” were sent to be hanged.
Khomeini’s heir protests haste of executions prisoners in 1988 massacre
The haste to execute was so abhorrent that some of Khomeini’s closest confidantes, most notably, Hossein Ali Montazeri, Khomeini’s heir apparent, had doubts and protested it. In letters to Khomeini, Montazeri urged for some leniency and slowing down. But Khomeini ordered there should be mercy for no one, including teenagers. He said pregnant women should not be spared or have the chance to give birth to their child and should be executed immediately.
In December 2000, Montazeri published his memoirs. The book revealed shocking documents on the atrocities committed by the clerical regime, none as horrendous as the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 on the orders of Khomeini.
Montazeri’s book was not the first document informing the world of this massacre. News of the carnage had already begun to trickle through the iron curtain of censorship imposed by the mullahs to ensure a complete blackout on their crime.
Khomeini required total conformity from the regime’s officials
All officials of the regime at the time had to conform fully to this massacre or they would be sacked or deposed. Ayatollah Montazeri, who protested the massacre, fell from grace and was sacked by Khomeini in March 1989. Montazeri’s memoirs in December 2000 and its shocking enclosures exposed the horrendous scale of the massacre. What gave weight to the revelations is that they were made by a man who was at the time of the executions the officially ordained successor to Khomeini and the second highest authority in Iran. Yet when it came to massacring political prisoners, Khomeini showed no mercy to slightest nonconformity even by Montazeri.
Role of Hassan Rouhani in 1988 massacre of political prisoners
Hassan Rouhani was Deputy Commander-in-chief of the regime’s armed forces at the time. Furthermore, since 1982 he was a member of the regime’s Supreme Defense Council and a member of the Central Council of the War Logistics Headquarters.
In those positions, he was fully cognizant of this hideous crime and obviously was in full conformity.
This shows that the notion that Rouhani is a “moderate” and “reform minded” is absolutely preposterous and baseless. Actually he, like all other senior officials of the regime, is a culprit of this hideous crime.
International assessment
There has been little international attention to this crime against humanity. In 2008, twenty years after the massacre Amnesty International “renewed its call for those responsible for the ‘prison massacre’ to be held accountable. There should be no impunity for such gross
Sites of a mass graves of the victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran human rights violations, regardless of when they were committed.” Amnesty added: “Those responsible for the killings –
one of the worst abuses to be committed in Iran – should be prosecuted and tried before a regularly and legally constituted court and with all necessary procedural guarantees, in accordance with international fair trial standards.”
Justice not yet served
The massacre of 1988 remains to be one of the darkest stains on the recent history of mankind, as one of the least exposed and discussed. Some human rights experts have described it as the greatest crime against humanity in the 20th Century following World War II that has gone unpunished.
It is the darkest irony of this very dark episode, that of all its human rights violations the Iranian regime has been most successful at keeping the 1988 killings a secret from the international community and even from many Iranians. By now, virtually everyone knows of the reign of terror that immediately followed the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government’s assassination campaign abroad, and the “Chain Murders” that targeted opposition intellectuals and activists in the late 1990s. Tragically, however, there is very little public awareness of the 1988 executions.
Not only has there been no prosecution of the criminals who orchestrated and carried out that summer’s gruesome murders, but the regime continues to deny that they even occurred. The Iranian regime continues to deny the 1988 elimination of opposition prisoners. None of the perpetrators or masterminds have been brought to justice and none of the regime’s senior officials including the current Supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, have been held accountable.
The pervasive silence of the past 28 years should be shattered. The UN should launch an independent investigation into one of the most hideous crimes against humanity after the Second World War.
Condemning the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling for justice for the victims.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 9, 2017
Mr. McCaul (for himself, Mr. Royce of California, Mr. Engel, Mrs. Comstock, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Keating, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Young of Alaska, and Ms. Judy Chu of California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Condemning the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and calling for justice for the victims.
Whereas over a 4-month period in 1988, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out the barbaric mass executions of thousands of political prisoners and many unrelated political groups;
Whereas according to a report by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, the massacre was carried out pursuant to a fatwa, or religious decree, issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that targeted the People’s Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI), also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK);
Whereas according to a November 2, 2007, report by Amnesty International, “between 27 July 1988 and the end of that year, thousands of political prisoners [in Iran], including prisoners of conscience, were executed in prisons nationwide”;
Whereas the killings were carried out on the orders of a judge, an official from the Ministry of Intelligence, and a state prosecutor, known to the prisoners as “Death Commissions” which undertook proceedings in a manner designed to eliminate the regime’s opponents;
Whereas those personally responsible for these mass executions include senior officials serving in the current Government of Iran;
Whereas prisoners were reportedly brought before the commissions and briefly questioned about their political affiliation, and any prisoner who refused to renounce his or her affiliation with groups perceived as enemies by the regime was then taken away for execution;
Whereas the victims included thousands of people, including teenagers and pregnant women, imprisoned merely for participating in peaceful street protests and for possessing political reading material, many of whom had already served or were currently serving prison sentences;
Whereas prisoners were executed in groups, some in mass hangings and others by firing squad, with their bodies disposed of in mass graves;
Whereas according to Amnesty International, “the majority of those killed were supporters of the PMOI, but hundreds of members and supporters of other political groups … were also among the execution victims”;
Whereas later waves of executions targeted religious minorities, such as members of the Baha’i faith, many of whom were often subjected to brutal torture before they were killed;
Whereas the families of the executed were denied information about their loved ones and were prohibited from mourning them in public;
Whereas in a recently disclosed audiotape, the late Hussein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah who served as Khomeini’s chief deputy, noted the regime’s efforts to target the MEK and said that the 1988 mass killings were “the greatest crime committed during the Islamic Republic, for which history will condemn us”;
Whereas the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly aware of, and later publicly condoned the massacre;
Whereas in violation of its international obligations, the Government of Iran continues to systematically perpetrate gross violations of the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people; and
Whereas the November 2, 2007, report from Amnesty International concluded “there should be no impunity for human rights violations, no matter where or when they took place. The 1988 executions should be subject to an independent impartial investigation, and all those responsible should be brought to justice, and receive appropriate penalties”: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the 1988 massacre, and for denying the evidence of this manifest set of crimes against humanity;
(2) urges the Administration and United States allies to publicly condemn the massacre, and pressure the Government of Iran to provide detailed information to the families of the victims about their loved ones and their final resting places; and
(3) urges the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran and the United Nations Human Rights Council to create a Commission of Inquiry to fully investigate the massacre and to gather evidence and identify the names and roles of specific perpetrators with a view towards bringing them to justice.
The international community must publicly condemn the deterioration in Iran’s human rights record during the country’s upcoming review session at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 8 November, Amnesty International said today.
The organization urges states taking part in Iran’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to denounce the widespread human rights violations and make concrete recommendations for the Iranian authorities to address them.
“From horrific execution rates, to the relentless persecution of human rights defenders, rampant discrimination against women and minorities, and ongoing crimes against humanity, the catalogue of appalling violations recorded in Iran reveals a sharp deterioration in its human rights record,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Iran’s upcoming UN human rights review session offers a crucial opportunity for the international community to send a strong and clear message to the Iranian authorities that its shocking disregard for human rights will not be tolerated
The international community must publicly condemn the deterioration in Iran’s human rights record during the country’s upcoming review session at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 8 November, Amnesty International said today.
The organization urges states taking part in Iran’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to denounce the widespread human rights violations and make concrete recommendations for the Iranian authorities to address them.
“From horrific execution rates, to the relentless persecution of human rights defenders, rampant discrimination against women and minorities, and ongoing crimes against humanity, the catalogue of appalling violations recorded in Iran reveals a sharp deterioration in its human rights record,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Iran’s upcoming UN human rights review session offers a crucial opportunity for the international community to send a strong and clear message to the Iranian authorities that its shocking disregard for human rights will not be tolerated.
Iran’s upcoming UN human rights review session offers a crucial opportunity for the international community to send a strong and clear message to the Iranian authorities that its shocking disregard for human rights will not be tolerated
Philip Luther, Amnesty International
“It is also an opportunity for states to place increased attention on the ongoing enforced disappearance of thousands of political dissidents over the past three decades, a crime against humanity which has been overlooked for far too long by the international community.”
Since Iran’s human rights record was last reviewed in 2014, the level of repression by the authorities has risen significantly.
Thousands of people have been rounded up for expressing their views or taking part in peaceful demonstrations and a vindictive crackdown has been launched against human rights defenders, including activists campaigning against forced veiling laws, in order to destroy the last vestiges of Iran’s civil society.
The authorities have further eroded fair trial rights and have executed more than 2,500 people, including juvenile offenders, in blatant violation of international law.
In a submission to the UN Human Rights Council ahead of the session, Amnesty International concluded that Iran is “failing on all fronts” when it comes to human rights.
The organization is calling on the country’s authorities to lift restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, end discrimination against women and minorities, impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and end torture and other ill-treatment, unfair trials and ongoing crimes against humanity.
During its last review session, Iran accepted just 130 out of the 291 recommendations it received from other states. Amnesty International’s analysis indicates that the Iranian authorities have failed to deliver on the majority of those promises.
Iran rejected calls during its last UPR to protect the rights of human rights defenders, stop their harassment and release those imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.
“Instead of strengthening co-operation with civil society and human rights organizations, as Iran had pledged to do, the authorities have instead further undermined these rights, intensifying their crackdown on dissent,” said Philip Luther.
Those unjustly imprisoned include journalists, artists and human rights defenders including lawyers, women’s rights defenders, minority rights activists, labour rights activists, environmental activists and those seeking truth, justice and reparations for the 1988 prison massacre.
Some of those jailed have been given shockingly harsh prison sentences, in some cases lasting several decades.
Human rights lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi was sentenced to 29 years and three months in prison and 111 lashes for his human rights work and is required to serve 15 years of this sentence. Lawyer and women’s rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years and 148 lashes for her peaceful activism and is required to serve 17 years of her sentence.
As well as continuing to subject women and girls to discrimination in law and practice, Iran’s authorities have rejected ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and failed to criminalize gender-based violence, including marital rape, domestic violence and early and forced marriage.
Women’s rights defenders, including those who have campaigned against Iran’s discriminatory and degrading forced veiling laws, have faced arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and other ill-treatment, unfair trials and lengthy prison sentences. They have also faced harassment and abuse by pro-government vigilantes for defying such laws.
Iran also continues to deny defendants the right to a fair trial, including by refusing them access to lawyers during investigations and trials, and continues to convict people based on “confessions” extracted through torture and other ill-treatment.
The authorities have a dreadful record of flouting prisoners’ right to health, deliberately denying medical care to prisoners of conscience, often as punishment, amounting to torture and other ill-treatment. Human rights defender Arash Sadeghi continues to be tortured through the denial of cancer treatment.
Meanwhile, in a relentless execution spree, more than 2,500 people have been put to death since Iran’s last UPR session, including at least 17 who were under 18 at the time of the crime, in flagrant violation of international law.
The Iranian authorities must reverse the catastrophic deterioration of their human rights record
Philip Luther, Amnesty International
The Iranian authorities also continue to commit the ongoing crime against humanity of enforced disappearance by systematically concealing the fate or whereabouts of several thousand imprisoned political dissidents who were forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret between July and September 1988.
“The Iranian authorities must reverse the catastrophic deterioration of their human rights record,” said Philip Luther.
“That means releasing prisoners of conscience, ending the persecution of human rights defenders, granting defendants the right to a fair trial and putting an end to their grotesque use of the death penalty by establishing an immediate moratorium with a view to abolishing it completely.
“It also means immediately disclosing the truth regarding the fate of victims of the 1988 massacres, stopping the destruction of mass grave sites containing the remains of the victims, and bringing to justice those suspected to be responsible for these crimes against humanity.”
