Reza Akbari Monfared: Pour-Mohammadi’s attempts to cover up facts
The most atrocious and blood thirsty person called “Pour-Mohammadi” who is also the Justice Minister of the so-called “Rouhani” was probably taken to the news studio upon recommendations of Rouhani in an attempt to intimidate survivors of the 1988 massacre. This was not meant to exonerate himself but rather to threaten others to retreat and deny their claims and prevent exposure of a criminal incident… but, such intimidations, executions and suppression do not succeed all the time!!!
Although this blood thirsty and criminal person and the Minister of Injustice was taken to the TV station to explicitly and directly threaten Ali Motahari (deputy speaker of parliament) first and then Mr. Montazeri (son of the Late Ayattollah Hossein Ali Montazeri), but remarks by this murderer were so repugnant and deceitful that brought to life those crimes and killings before my eyes once again.
By resorting to intimidations and obnoxious claims he is trying to shut our mouths too and not let us to say anything… I do not know about people such as Motahari and I wonder if these remarks are for publicity purposes or to gain ministerial and other posts or whether indeed he truly cares to know the facts…?!
However, for me, having lost all my family, have nothing to worry or to lose.
…
Therefore, for people like me who have lost almost all members of our family, that is [in my case] my sister and my brothers and my mother also died as a result of a stroke following these crimes, have nothing to lose.
In order to shed light on only part of these crimes and to serve justice to my family I deem necessary to remind the following:
My brother Alireza was arrested on 11 September 1981 and executed by firing squad on 18 September 1981 (i.e. seven days after his arrest).
They never handed over his body. It was only after a while that they showed us a piece of rock in section 85 of Behesht-e Zahra cemetery and told us that he was buried there.
When we held a small family memorial ceremony in our house (they would not allow to hold a ceremony in a mosque), someone by the name of Akbar Khosh-koush from Nazi-Abad police station accompanied by number people from the same station attacked our house.
They arrested all our family members and relatives and took them to Tehran’s Evin prison. They were released gradually after few months and my mother was released after five months.
My sister who was arrested in the same ceremony for the same charge was sentenced to 10 years prison term. In 1988, after serving seven years in prison, she was executed upon the same decree issued in 1988 for the massacre [of political prisoners].
My other brother, Gholamreza, who was a tailor, was found to be in Evin prison in 1983 and we did not know of his whereabouts for several months. Eventually, in 1985, without showing us his body, they showed us another piece of rock in section 106 of Behesht-e Zahra cemetery and claimed that he was buried there.
We and specially our mother were never sure if our loved ones were truly buried there.
My younger brother, Abdulreza, who was arrested around mid-May 1981 (before 20 June 1981 mass demonstration) charged with selling newspaper in Tehran’s Khazaneh district, was sentenced to three years imprisonment. But after completing his prison term in 1984 he was not released and was held unlawfully for additional four years. He was also executed upon the same decree for massacre in 1988 along with my sister who was arrested in 1981 (I mentioned her case earlier).
This time, not only they refused to hand over their bodies, but also refused to show us where they were buried. My father was instead put under pressure by threats and intimidations to declare that they had died due to natural causes in prison. Should he make such a declaration he may enjoy from “Islamic compassion” and their burial location may be showed to him.
This never happened and after 28 years we still do not know about their burial location. And now this criminal clergy, the most atrocious criminal, appears on TV after 28 years and brags about his crimes and service [to the regime] and threatens all the relatives and survivors [of the victims], even Motahari and Montazeri, with massacre.
Therefore, with utmost commitment towards my family and commitment towards my sister and brothers who were unfairly killed (Roghiye, Gholamreza, Alireza and Abdulreza) say to this criminal (Pour-Mohammadi) that you have killed only four members of this family innocently and I am now in Gohardasht prison and my other sister (Maryam) is also in jail. I know that for you it does not matter if a person is convicted or charged and whenever it is necessary you will execute, but if the 1988 massacre and all these massacres that we see every day across Iran has not yet made the world to react, me and my sister as the only survivors, if it is necessary for us to be hanged today to reveal these crimes and open the eyes of people of Iran and the world over, we do not have any fear.
Perhaps we could this way fulfil our duties towards those whose blood were spilt so innocently and have something to claim in the world hereafter before the almighty and with our blood to declare that such crimes by criminals (death commission) have nothing to do with Islam and the holly prophet.
Reza Akbari Monfared
Political prisoner
Hall 12 of Ward 4
Gohardasht prison (Raja’i Shahr of Karaj)
28 August 2016
