Complete Destruction of Mass Graves in Ahvaz by Municipality

The Justice for Iran website reported the "complete destruction of mass graves" of victims from the 1980s and other political prisoners' graves in Ahvaz by the city's municipality. On Wednesday (July 25), the website stated that "Ahvaz municipality agents completely destroyed the mass grave of the victims of the 1988 massacre and other graves of political prisoners under the pretext of constructing a boulevard and green space." According to the Justice for Iran report, news, videos, and photos of this action by the "Ahvaz municipality" have been "verified by the Justice for Iran website." The report noted that "the entire area that previously contained mass and individual graves of political prisoners executed in the 1980s has been leveled using excavators," and this area is currently "under heavy security surveillance." Some "eyewitnesses" have also told "Justice for Iran" that "the entire operation to eliminate all traces and stones left by families took less than 24 hours." The Justice for Iran website quoted several families of victims from the 1980s, stating that "in 1988, during the massacre of political prisoners, at least 44 male and female political prisoners were buried in mass graves in the Padadshahr area of Ahvaz." A person named Eisa Baziyar, also an "eyewitness," told "Justice for Iran" that "in early August 1988, he witnessed bodies being thrown into freshly dug pits at night. Families believe that officials immediately poured concrete over the bodies after burial to prevent them from digging up the ground and finding their loved ones' remains." According to Justice for Iran, these graves have "always been subjected to desecration and attempts by government officials to cover up" and "for over a decade, this area has been covered with garbage and construction debris to erase it from public view and make access difficult for families." The report states that although the municipality's operations in this area began in early 2017, "it was halted after families informed and human rights organizations and the UN warned about the potential destruction of mass graves." Justice for Iran and Amnesty International warned in May of this year about the destruction of "mass graves with the intent to erase evidence of the 1988 massacre." According to reports from these two organizations, Iranian officials have "deliberately" destroyed the mass graves of victims of the political prisoners' massacre in 1988 in at least seven cities in Iran. Iranian security agencies have also repeatedly destroyed the Khavaran cemetery in Tehran over the past three decades. Iranian officials rarely speak about the mass executions of prisoners in the summer of 1988, and the burial sites of these prisoners have never been officially announced. Most of the executed prisoners that year were members of groups such as the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the Tudeh Party, the Fadaiyan, and other leftist groups who had previously been tried and were serving their prison sentences. According to Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the then-deputy leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini personally ordered the execution of those who, according to him, "insisted on their hypocritical positions in prisons across the country." Many of those executed were buried anonymously in mass graves in the Khavaran cemetery.