Motahari Stands Firm on His Position Regarding the 1988 Executions: 'We Should Explain Instead of Shouting'

Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, on Tuesday, September 9, reiterated his previous stance regarding the audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri, urging officials to explain to the public about the 1988 executions instead of making slogans. Speaking in the open session of the Parliament in response to a representative's notice, Motahari criticized the 'strange sensitivity' towards his letter to Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a member of the 1988 execution committee. He also accused his critics in Parliament, who have recently signed a petition and shouted 'Death to the Hypocrites', of political maneuvering. In a formal letter published on Saturday, September 6, in the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Motahari explicitly asked Pourmohammadi, the current Minister of Justice and a former member of the decision-making committee regarding the 1988 executions, whether the rumors about the events of 1988 regarding the implementation of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini]'s decree are true or not. In the audio file released from Ayatollah Montazeri, he mentions Pourmohammadi's presence as a representative of the Ministry of Intelligence in this committee, stating that the Ministry had 'opinions and had invested' in the execution of political prisoners for years. However, throughout the approximately 40-minute audio file of Montazeri's meeting with four committee members, none of the attendees refute or deny Montazeri's criticisms; they only attempt to explain their actions in parts of the file, accompanied by laughter and jokes. This point is also implicitly referenced by Motahari in his formal letter, where he asked Pourmohammadi to take a clear stance. Pourmohammadi, in response to Motahari's question last Sunday, emphasized that he 'takes pride' in his role in the mass executions of 1988. However, Motahari's letter sparked significant criticism in the Islamic Consultative Assembly. In response to the uproar of these criticisms, Motahari stated that 'it is necessary for officials to provide explanations instead of shouting about the crimes of the hypocrites and the greatness of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini].' He also emphasized the 'criminality of the hypocrites', stating that due to the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, by the Farqan group, he has been personally affected by this group and 'naturally does not defend the hypocrites.' Motahari insisted: 'Officials should explain whether the decree executed in 1988 was done with utmost caution and with a religious decree, and no injustice was done to anyone, or if there are those who object, let it be announced so that necessary investigations and follow-ups can be conducted to rectify any shortcomings.' He continued: 'It is better to close the case and not shout so much.' Officials of the Islamic Republic use the term 'hypocrites' to describe the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, one of the main opposition groups to the Islamic Republic over the past four decades. Regarding the summer 1988 executions, which included a group of leftist political prisoners and supporters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq, there has rarely been discussion from the official platforms of the Islamic Republic.