PourMohammadi on the 1987 Executions: I Am Facing the Most Attacks Now and They Seem Relentless

Mostafa PourMohammadi, the Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, reacted on Tuesday, September 8, to a recent letter from Ali Motahari addressed to him, stating that Ayatollah Khomeini taught them not to play on the enemy's field. Following reactions to the release of an audio file of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri regarding the mass executions of 1987, and the fact that Mostafa PourMohammadi was the then representative of the Ministry of Intelligence at Evin Prison and a member of the committee deciding on the executions of summer 1987, Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, requested an explanation from him, asking, 'Are the rumors about the events of 1987 regarding the execution of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini]'s orders true or not?' Mostafa PourMohammadi commented on Motahari's recent letter to Mehr News Agency, saying, 'The great Imam taught us not to play on the enemy's field, and we determine and outline the scene of struggle and play, and we draw the map ourselves.' According to Mehr, the Iranian Minister of Justice also emphasized during a session of the Supreme Judicial Council of Lorestan that 'I am currently facing the most conflicts, attacks, and assaults, and apparently they do not want to let up,' adding, 'But I am very calm, and throughout all these years, I have not lost a single night of sleep because I have tried to act according to the law and Sharia.' The Minister of Justice further stated that if 'a ruling is contrary to reality and we later realize it has psychological pressure, the judge will be engaged with that ruling for the rest of his life,' asserting, 'In judicial work, it is important that your ears are not attentive to gossip and applause.' This is not the first time that Mostafa PourMohammadi has responded to Ali Motahari's letter in the media. He had also stated on Sunday, 'We take pride in executing God's command regarding the hypocrites and standing firmly against the enemies of God and the nation.' Iranian officials refer to the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization as 'hypocrites.' This organization has been one of the main opposition groups to the Islamic Republic for nearly four decades. In the released audio file from a meeting of Ayatollah Montazeri with judicial officials of the Islamic Republic in August 1987, it is reported that Hussein Ali Niri, the then Sharia judge, Morteza Eshraqi, the then Tehran prosecutor, Ebrahim Raisi, the then deputy prosecutor, and Mostafa PourMohammadi, the representative of the Ministry of Intelligence at Evin Prison, were present. In the mass executions of summer 1987, thousands of prisoners affiliated with the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization and Marxist leftist groups were executed. Ali Motahari's letter to Mostafa PourMohammadi has led to objections from some conservative members of Parliament. Mohsen Kouhkan has protested why Mr. Motahari, as Deputy Speaker of Parliament, should make such a statement. Additionally, 20 members of Parliament have called for an investigation into Mr. Motahari's qualifications to remain in the Deputy Speaker position. In response to Mohsen Kouhkan's criticism in the open session, Ali Motahari stated that the issue of the Deputy Speakership should not cause the duty of representation to be forgotten.