Who Holds Political and Legal Responsibility for the Executions of Summer 1988?

On Sunday, August 24, the 28th anniversary of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri's efforts to prevent the expansion of mass executions of political prisoners affiliated with the People's Mujahedin Organization and Marxist groups during the first decade of the revolution is marked. In a face-to-face conversation with Hossein Ali Niri, the then-judge, Morteza Eshraqi, the then-prosecutor of Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi, the then-deputy prosecutor, and Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the then-representative of the Ministry of Intelligence at Evin Prison, Montazeri's attempts to stop the mass executions ordered by Ayatollah Khomeini were in vain. The website operators of Ayatollah Montazeri recently released the audio of this conversation for the first time, allowing officials to no longer deny the 1988 massacre or the attempts to stop it. In this over 40-minute conversation, Montazeri defends the rights of prisoners who had received sentences and refers to the summer and autumn massacre 28 years ago as a 'great crime,' calling the attendees criminals: 'In my opinion, the greatest crime committed in the history of the Islamic Republic was done by you, and you will be written in history as criminals.' Montazeri explicitly opposes the execution of prisoners who had already served part of their sentences, stating, 'You have undermined the judicial system of the country. For several years... one was sentenced to 5 years, another to 6 years, one to 10 years, and another to 15 years. To come and execute them without any new activity means we have all messed up.' Now, 28 years after the mass execution of a number of political prisoners in 1988, advocates for justice view Montazeri's released audio as strong evidence. The old question remains: Who is responsible for the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988 and the violence of the 1980s? In this week's program 'Views,' I am joined by two guests: Reza Moieni, who published the first documented and research article a year after the 1988 mass executions in Paris and lost many family members in those executions and the executions of the 1980s, and Ali Asghar Ramadanpour in London, who was the cultural deputy of the Ministry of Culture during Mohammad Khatami's presidency and also lost his brother in the 1980s executions. Mr. Moieni, who do you think holds responsibility for the executions, torture, arbitrary imprisonments, and violence of the 1980s? Reza Moieni: Undoubtedly, tracing the roots of violence is not easy, but all these events occurred within a historical context from the day after the revolution. If we consider this historical period that is still not closed, it began from the day after February 11 and the leadership of Mr. Khomeini over the Iranian revolution, and the first executions were carried out at his residence, where the rooftop became a shooting range and the basement turned into a prison. After that, as something that needs to be examined, I think the discussion about when violence began and who is primarily responsible can have two answers. One easy answer is that everyone is to blame, and a legal answer regarding international law makes the discussion more serious. I think we should discuss it within that framework to search for the perpetrators of violence in society. Mr. Ramadanpour, your response to the same question: who holds the primary responsibility for the executions, torture, arbitrary imprisonments, and violence of the 1980s? Ali Asghar Ramadanpour: If we want to name a specific individual, we must mention Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, who not only bore political responsibility but also personally specified punishments and even issued execution orders. From the first executions that took place in the school where Khomeini was present to the 1988 executions that were explicitly ordered by him. After him, Iranian judicial officials at various times, from when we had the Supreme Judicial Council to when it became a presidency, and specifically some judges like Khalqali, Gilan, and in some cases Azari Qomi and Bajnourdi, have specific legal responsibilities. But politically, I think the group that had the most influence politically in Iran, especially from 1979 onwards, specifically after the dissolution of the Revolutionary Council, bears political responsibility in this regard, particularly Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mr. Khamenei. In a period, even Mr. Montazeri should be held accountable, but he later distanced himself from this chapter. However, in political matters, when we speak accurately, this group that specifically led Iran from 1979 to 1988 must be held accountable in this regard. Mr. Moieni, do those who worked at the executive levels of this government share in collective responsibility as mentioned in international law or not? Reza Moieni: I think I mentioned earlier that before identifying who initiated or continued the violence, if we examine its source, I can say it this way. You speak of 'being,' I speak of 'being.' As long as this source is not examined and as long as no answer is given to this source, undoubtedly legitimacy and, in a way, the continuation of that violence will manifest in other forms in society. Responsibility is not merely individual; it is a collective responsibility. It is a responsibility within the governing power. The primary responsibility lies with the state and the ruling authority, which are the signatories of conventions and are responsible for implementing these conventions. The Islamic Republic, continuing from previous governments, accepted that it is accountable and, in principle, accepts all international obligations of the Iranian government and, in general, Iran. In this regard, both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have been accepted as rights and as law in Iran. Deviating from these frameworks undoubtedly constitutes a general issue for the state or ruling power. Individual responsibilities in this regard are significant. Mr. Ramadanpour pointed out the special authority and unique role that Ayatollah Khomeini had and other religious leaders in the country, not only as rights and political authority but also as a reality that encouraged violence and advanced an ideological and religious justification that religious leaders provided. Heresy and apostasy were used as tools to eliminate parts of political forces, political rivals, and even personal and religious rivals from society. I believe that if we discuss this mechanism, we can better understand a totalitarian state, a totalitarian ideology at least in part of our country's history, and recognize its function and damage to society and then understand how a government finds accomplices within society, and this complicity can lead to violence and the continuation of violence to this day. Mr. Ramadanpour, I ask you the same question. Others who were at various executive levels of this government, like yourself, are they also responsible in your opinion, or is only one faction of the government responsible? Are reformists responsible for the events that occurred in the 1980s politically, morally, or legally? Ali Asghar Ramadanpour: Specifically regarding myself, as you mentioned, I was not in a position of political responsibility in the 1980s to comment on this issue. But generally, if we want to say that the status of each of these violations in each case is different. For example, we had cases in 1979 and 1980 where at least the court format and issuance of sentences were observed. But at the same time, we had cases where, for example, a judge from Tehran was sent to a county and executed ten or fifteen people without any formal and legal procedures being followed. Therefore, what I mean is that regardless of the political generalities and the justification that Mr. Moieni referred to as the propagation of violence, we must look at each issue on a case-by-case basis. Or regarding the massacres and executions of 1988, what happened politically is that not only Mr. Khomeini is responsible, but a large part of those who held positions in the Iranian government bear political responsibility. For example, we know that Mr. Mousavi, during that period, had no judicial responsibility. But he, as someone who held political responsibility, must be accountable for this. We had people like Mr. Montazeri who reacted to this issue and expressed their objections. But others like Mr. Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mr. Khamenei have no evidence that they reacted or resisted against the policy expressed by Mr. Khomeini at that time. However, in cases like the 1988 incident, it can be said that all political factions in power at various levels bear political responsibility, although their legal responsibilities may differ. Therefore, during that period, I think this is a general responsibility, and none of these factions are exempt. Of course, we can explain that many of them cannot express their opinions on this issue in Iran today. But this does not negate their responsibility as long as they have remained silent on this matter. I emphasize this because, for example, in the case of the killing of prisoners and the execution of those who were in prison and had the status of captives, it can be compared in importance to what happened in Germany during World War II. It may be smaller in scale, but the number of prisoners in prison, while some of their sentences were ending and some were serving their sentences, were summoned again, and it is clear that the intention was for a large number to be executed. What I mean is that the importance of this issue is so politically significant that the factions in power in Iran during that period cannot be exempt from this issue. Mr. Moieni, so far in the discussion with Mr. Ramadanpour and you, we have focused on the government and its various factions. However, there are also discussions about the government's opponents. At one time, you were one of those opponents and were imprisoned for it. There are discussions about the right to armed defense against a government that responds to the distribution of publications and expression of opinion, organized efforts, and political parties with weapons and killings. This is the argument made by proponents of armed struggle or rebellion. What is your opinion on this argument? Reza Moieni: I believe that in a society emerging from a revolution and a revolution that arose from an oppressive and dictatorial society, violence can undoubtedly take the forefront and does. Everyone views these events from their perspective and sees themselves as victims. Even later, when some of these reformist friends and religious intellectuals spoke, their ultimate discussion was that we were all totalitarian and we all must repent nationally. This negligence in looking at history, in my opinion, must change at least to address the problems we have. Undoubtedly, opposition groups also resorted to violence. This violence was real. When I spoke of the source, it was to recognize the foundation and discuss where violence occurred. I have said and written throughout the years that this violence cannot be justified as self-defense. The government, by pushing and pressuring part of society and the forces representing that part in society, has created a state of repression. There are numerous examples; I have often cited the number of young student and school activist newspaper vendors killed, which numbered nearly 200 across Iran, and no court has been held for any of them. When courts are not held and the perpetrators and instigators... I want to open a parenthesis here; these days when they say 'rogue elements,' those same Hezbollah groups that used to disrupt and beat others before the revolution became the Basij and personal guardians after the revolution. Neither these personal guardians nor the death squads in Argentina were rogue elements. They were organized and structured for the execution of a certain policy and were a military arm of part of the policy. Therefore, when we refer to this and examine that source, undoubtedly, as a human rights defender, I cannot...