The 'Unanswered' Letter from Families of Executed Prisoners in the 1980s to Massoud Pezeshkian

More than 90 families and survivors of political prisoners executed in the 1980s, particularly during the mass execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988, published their 'unanswered letter' to Massoud Pezeshkian, addressing the people of Iran, stating that for the past 11 months 'the cemetery of Khavaran has been closed to us.' In their letter to the people of Iran, published on Friday, January 25, they added: 'We have repeatedly approached and written to officials, various centers, and institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, requesting the reopening of the cemetery for the right to mourn and unconditional presence at the graves of our loved ones, but we have not received any response so far.' The families and survivors of the political prisoners executed in the 1980s referred to their 'letter of demand' to Massoud Pezeshkian, the President of the 14th government of the Islamic Republic, in September of this year, stating that 'this letter was referred by the Tehran Security Council to the Ministry of Intelligence after months of wandering and approaching the mentioned institutions,' but officials of that Islamic Republic institution 'emphasized their lack of accountability with insulting behavior.' According to the Telegram channel 'Charter of Freedom, Welfare, and Equality,' the letter addressed to Massoud Pezeshkian mentions the 'secret execution of thousands of political prisoners' in the 1980s, especially in the summer of 1988, 'in violation of the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran' and their 'secret and nameless burial' in 'mass graves across the country, including in Khavaran cemetery next to the graves of Bahá'ís and martyrs with names and identities prior to 1988.' Dozens of family members and survivors of the executed political prisoners pointed out that 'neither the time of execution nor the exact burial location was announced, nor were the survivors allowed to mourn,' adding: 'Moreover, for a long time, they have been preventing survivors from entering the cemetery area by erecting high concrete walls, installing cameras, and closing the gates of Khavaran.' They added: 'Despite the objections of the Bahá'ís, their deceased are buried in the soil of our loved ones, breaking the sanctity of both sides and renewing our grief.' In this letter, a government official named 'Masoud Momeni' is described as having 'insulting' behavior towards the families, stating that he 'increases the suffering of families by limiting the time of presence, preventing the laying of flowers, and demanding national ID cards to go to the graves.' The signatories of this letter wrote: 'We have repeatedly and patiently sought justice through legal means, by writing letters and making repeated visits to responsible institutions, the municipality, city council, and the security of Behesht Zahra, but it has yielded no results.' They requested Pezeshkian to 'once again demand the least and most basic human and customary right and legal right of the survivors to be present at the graves of their loved ones, namely the right to mourn.' The families and survivors of the executed political prisoners demanded 'the cessation of the burial of other deceased in the soil of their loved ones and the opening of the gates of Khavaran and the removal of any barriers and restrictions for presence at the graves and honoring their loved ones in Khavaran cemetery.' The families of the executed political prisoners include 'Yousef Abkhoun, Roozbeh Goli Abkenari, Saeed Azarnagh, Nasser Akhavan Aghdam, Fariborz Salehi, Mohammad Ali Bigdel, Alireza Kiaei, Nasrin Izadi, Behrouz Jahandar, Rasool Rezaian, Yahya Rahimi, Manouchehr Sarhadi, Kamal Sadrzadeh, Anousheh Taheri, Anoushiravan Lotfi, Behzad Abdollahi, Hassan and Ali Ajam, Majid Kiani, Bahman Gazrani, Ghasem Golshan, Asghar Mahboub, Habibollah Moieni Chagharvand, Saeed Zinali, and Rahman Hatefi.' Reports have previously emerged regarding the prevention of families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s from entering Khavaran cemetery in Tehran to hold memorial ceremonies for the executed. Regarding Khavaran cemetery, the Iranian government has long prevented the presence of families of executed political prisoners in this cemetery while forcibly burying the bodies of Bahá'í citizens in the section related to political prisoners executed in the summer of 1988. The Khavaran families assess the government's aim in this action as erasing 'the evidence of the crime of the massacre of political prisoners in the 1980s, especially in the summer of 1988,' and have repeatedly protested against this process. Khavaran cemetery, located in the southeastern part of Tehran along the Khavaran road, adjacent to several cemeteries belonging to religious minorities, is the burial site of thousands of political and ideological prisoners executed in the summer of 1988, who were secretly and namelessly buried in mass graves. These political prisoners, who were members and supporters of leftist organizations and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, were executed by the order of a body known as the 'Death Commission.' According to the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, 'the mass execution of political prisoners in the months of Mordad and Shahrivar 1367 is considered the darkest part of Ebrahim Raisi's list of crimes, from which little information has emerged even after nearly 36 years.'