Request to the UN for Recognition of the 1988 Executions as Crimes Against Humanity

One hundred civil, academic, and human rights figures of Iranian origin residing abroad have written a letter to the UN Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court, urging these bodies to recognize the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988 in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a "crime against humanity." According to the "Iran Human Rights Campaign," part of this letter states: "In 1988, by the order of Ayatollah Khomeini, a multitude of political prisoners were executed. According to Amnesty International, at least 4,482 young men and women were 'disappeared' within two months that year. Many of those executed had completed their sentences and should have been released from prison. The bodies of the executed were buried in unmarked graves, and their families never learned of their loved ones' burial places." The signatories of this letter assert: "We consider the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran a clear and evident case of a crime against humanity. We call on international human rights organizations and the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran for its systematic enmity towards the civil and political rights of its citizens." Among the signatories are Shirin Ebadi, Nobel laureate; Sohrab Behdad, an economics professor in the U.S.; Ali Akbar Mahdi, a university professor in the U.S.; Hadi Ghaemi, a human rights activist; Mehrangiz Kar, a human rights lawyer; Esfandiar Monfaredzadeh, a composer; Nasser Pakdaman, a writer; Nira Tohidi, a civil rights activist and university professor; and Mohsen Yalfani, a writer. The signatories also noted that "Canada is the only country in the world that has officially accused Iran of crimes against humanity due to the 1988 massacre" and emphasized: "The only legal way to open a case against Iran by the court is through an official request from the UN Security Council, although the political interests of veto-holding states prevent the Security Council from doing so." This letter was published while, at the end of the current month, the official website of Ayatollah Montazeri released an audio file from a meeting he had with members of the 1988 execution committee. In this meeting, individuals such as Hossein Ali Niri, Morteza Eshraqi, Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and Ebrahim Raisi were present. Ayatollah Montazeri describes the mass execution of political prisoners as "the greatest crime" in the history of the Islamic Republic and tells the attendees that they will be referred to as "criminals" in the future. The release of this audio file has sparked widespread reactions in Iran, and Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, has called on the "authorities" to explain the 1988 executions to the people. Political and human rights activists say that during the mass execution of political prisoners in 1988, several thousand supporters of the People's Mojahedin Organization and leftist groups serving their sentences were executed.