Motahari's Reaction to Montazeri's Audio File: It's Good to Clarify the Issue for the People

In response to the release of an audio file of Ayatollah Montazeri, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, called for an explanation from those involved in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. In a note published on Tuesday, August 16, on the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), Mr. Motahari stated, 'It would be good for Mr. Raisi, Niri, and Pourmohammadi, who were involved in the matter, to explain and clarify the issue for the people, and of course, if there was any negligence in the execution of the sentence, an apology should be made.' Hussein Ali Niri, Ebrahim Raisi, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi were members of the committee that decided on the execution of political and ideological prisoners in the summer of 1988 based on the orders of Ruhollah Khomeini, the then-leader of the Islamic Republic. Mr. Niri is currently the Deputy of the Supreme Court, Ebrahim Raisi is the custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi is the Minister of Justice in Hassan Rouhani's government. Various statistics have been published regarding the executions of 1988, ranging from two thousand to thirty thousand individuals. Hussein Ali Montazeri, who was the deputy leader of the Islamic Republic at the time of the executions, previously revealed in his memoirs the roles of Ruhollah Khomeini, his son Ahmad Khomeini, and the decision-making committee regarding these executions. However, after Mr. Montazeri's office recently released the audio file of his meeting with the decision-making committee, this issue has once again become a headline in the media and has generated numerous and varied reactions. Ali Motahari emphasized in his note that 'there is no doubt about the attribution of this file to Ayatollah Montazeri' and 'of course, his remarks were made out of concern and goodwill for the Islamic Revolution, but whether his concerns were justified or not, and what the story was, is not clear to us.' Mr. Motahari also stated, 'It is unclear whether there was an order from the Imam or not, and if there was, what it was, and whether this order was executed correctly or not; our information is incomplete.' Nevertheless, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly mentioned that 'generally, our Islamic Revolution has dealt with its opponents more leniently compared to other revolutions, and its image should not be distorted.' Most of the executed prisoners in 1988 were members and supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, but among the executed were also members and supporters of leftist groups such as Paykar, Kurdish parties, and the Tudeh Party. The executions occurred while most of these prisoners had previously been tried and sentenced to imprisonment and were serving their sentences. In response to the release of this audio file, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran once again called for 'the trial of the leaders of the Islamic Republic for crimes against humanity.'