Destruction of 'Historical Document' of Political Executions; Donation of Bahá'í Citizen's Body for Education Instead of Burial in Khavaran

Following the efforts of the Islamic Republic officials to change the use of the Khavaran cemetery, which is a 'historical document' related to the mass executions of the 1980s, the family of a Bahá'í citizen, who were told to bury her in Khavaran, donated her body for medical education. Kamran Rahimian, son of Afaq Khosravi Vand, a Bahá'í citizen who passed away on November 22, announced on December 6 that 'to preserve the independence of the Bahá'í community' and also 'to respect the sanctity of the spirit of Khavaran,' which he claims his father is also 'part of,' the family decided to dedicate his mother's body to 'the education of medical students.' Rahim Rahimian, a Bahá'í citizen and husband of Afaq Khosravi Vand, was executed by the Islamic Republic in the early 1980s, and currently, their other son, Keyvan Rahimian, is imprisoned. According to Kamran Rahimian, the decision to donate his mother's body was based on 'Afaq's desire for learning and her unwavering support' for her children in their pursuit of education. Some human rights activists had previously stated that the children of Afaq Khosravi Vand decided to donate their mother's body for medical education while the Islamic Republic had forced the Rahimian family 'like all Bahá'í families to bury their mother in Khavaran.' News sources reported that families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s, who went to Khavaran cemetery on Friday, December 3, to commemorate their loved ones, faced a row of dug graves in the area of the mass graves in Khavaran. On the other hand, Atena Daemi, a human rights activist, stated in a post on social media platform X that 'Bahá'í citizens are under severe pressure' from the intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic to not bury their deceased loved ones in 'Golestan-e Javid,' the special cemetery for Bahá'ís. According to her, 'Momeni, the new head of Golestan-e Javid,' appointed by the Ministry of Intelligence, 'does not allow the burial of Bahá'í citizens in this cemetery and says either the deceased must be buried in Khavaran and Behesht Zahra or large sums of money are demanded for the burial of Bahá'í citizens in Golestan-e Javid.' Atena Daemi emphasized that 'many members of the Bahá'í community are unwilling to pay extra for land that belongs to them, and on the other hand, they do not want their loved ones to be buried in Khavaran, which is a historical document of the crimes of the Islamic Republic.' The increased pressures of the Islamic Republic on Bahá'í citizens come as Farhad Sabetan, spokesperson for the Bahá'í International Community, previously told Voice of America that Bahá'í citizens 'have done nothing but goodwill and service' for Iran. According to the Telegram channel 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality,' the burial of deceased Bahá'í citizens in Khavaran 'has continued for the past two years despite the opposition of the Bahá'í community,' and the 'goal of the Islamic Republic' in this action is 'the destruction of the document of the crime of the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988, which are buried in mass graves in Khavaran.' The report states that 'the families of Khavaran have repeatedly protested and condemned this action,' and among them 'in Ordibehesht 1402, a group of Khavaran families inside published a letter condemning this action and calling for the government to stop its efforts to destroy the evidence of the crime in Khavaran.' In this protest letter, condemning 'any disrespect, assault, destruction, and change in Khavaran,' it was emphasized that 'Khavaran is the resting place of our pure loved ones whose cries for freedom were stifled' and also 'Khavaran is a historical document of the massacre of political prisoners in the 1980s, especially the summer of 1988, which should not be forgotten.' Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was a member of a committee known as the 'Death Committee' that, by the order of Ruhollah Khomeini, the former leader, condemned thousands of political prisoners to execution following brief trials and immediately executed these sentences. The report from 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, Equality' emphasizes that 'the Islamic Republic has not provided any information about this organized government crime to the families seeking justice for the past three decades and has even prevented the placement of gravestones or any signs and holding memorial ceremonies,' and with the actions of government officials to change the use of Khavaran, 'now the families of Khavaran are worried about the process of its destruction.' According to this report, this process 'is also ongoing in similar cemeteries in other cities of Iran such as Tabriz, Mashhad, Ahvaz, and Amol.'