Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Mohammad Abbasi

About

Age: 45
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Baha'i
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: July 9, 1982
Location of Killing: Qazvin, Zanjan Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Shooting
Charges: Religious offense

About this Case

Information about the execution of Mr. Mohammad (also spelled "Muhammad") Abbasi, father of three, was obtained from an announcement by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin published in Kayhan Daily Newspaper (June 11, 1982), Prosecutor of Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin’s official order regarding his burial procedure (July 10, 1982), and a biography published the Archives of Baha’i Persecution in Iran. Additional information about Mr. Abbasi was obtained from a letter sent by Siavash Mahboob on November 22, 1982 from the United Kingdom about the burial of several Baha’is in Qazvin, and another sent by Shahram Mansuri in November 1983 from India, about the method of execution of several Baha’is in Qazvin.

Mr. Mohammad Abbasi is one of the 206 Iranian Baha’is listed in a 1993 report published by the Baha’i International Community. The report documents the persecution of the members of the Baha’i faith in the Islamic Republic of Iran and lists members killed since 1978. Additional information has been drawn from various issues of The Baha’i World. See for example: Vol. XIX, 1982-1986, Haifa 1994.

Mr. Moahmmad Abbasi was born in 1937 in Torbat-e Heydarieh, Khorasan Razavi Province, to a Muslim family (ABPI, Bio). He first moved to Mashhad when he was 10 to work at his brother’s shop, where he worked for six years, before moving to Tehran to work at a Tailorshop (ABPI, Bio). He returned to Mashhad at 22, and upon turning 25 in 1962, he declared the Baha’i faith. After relocating again to Tehran in 1963 and then Qazvin in 1973, he finally settled in a small town near Qazvin (ABPI, Bio). Mr. Abbasi was married to Mrs. Zivar Abbasi (Order of burial procedure July 10, 1981) and had three children (ABC Electronic Form).

The Baha’is in the Islamic Republic of Iran: Background

The authorities of the Islamic Republic have subjected the members of the Baha'i religious community of Iran - the largest religious minority, with approximately 300 thousand members in 1979(1)- to systematic harassment and persecution, depriving them of their most fundamental human rights. The Baha'i religion is not recognized under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, and Iranian authorities refer to it as a heresy. As a result, the Baha'is have been denied the rights associated with the status of a religious minority; they cannot profess and practice their faith, and are banned from public functions. Discrimination under the law and in practice has subjected them to abuse and violence.(2) 

Persecution of Baha’is in Iran is not specific to the time of the Islamic Republic but it was in this era that it was amplified and institutionalized. During the Revolution itself, supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini attacked Baha’i homes and businesses and in certain instances, even committed murder.

On the eve of his return from France to Iran, in response to a question regarding political and religious freedom of Baha’is under the rule of an Islamic government, Ayatollah Khomeini stated: “They are a political party; they are harmful and detrimental. They will not be acceptable.” The interviewer asked another question: “Will they be free to perform their religious rites?” The Ayatollah responded: “No.” Khomeini had previously “spoken of the Baha’i threat to the Shah’s regime, Islam, national unity, and national security” in various speeches. (Asoo website, October 6, 2015).

Arrest and Detention

Mr. Abbasi was arrested on April 10th, 1982. He was initially held at an Islamic Komiteh in his local; area before being transferred to the Central Committee of Qazvin, and was subsequently detained at Chubin Dar Prison in Qazvin. He was held in detention for at least 90 days and was put under pressure to renounce his faith. According to his family, his body (received after his execution) showcased signs of torture (Shahram Mansuri November 1983).

Trial

According to a letter sent by Shahram Mansuri from India in November 1983, Mr. Abbasi and seven others were sent to trial 45 days after his arrest, on May 24th, 1982. During the trial, four individuals who recanted their faith were released, and four others, including Mr. Abbasi, who refused to convert, were ordered back to detention (Shahram Mansuri November 1983).

Charges

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin announced the charges for Mr. Abbasi and three others as being “ active members of Baha’ism in Qazin and Assemblies of multiple small towns and were the main authorities and operators of this network, who in addition to vast propagation of Baha’ism and encouragement and persuasion of youth to deviation from Islam and financial aid, had formed a small group in Qazvin with the name of “Qiam-e Melli-e Iran” [National Uprising of Iran] which was working to supposedly overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran” (Kayhan Daily Newspaper June 11, 1982).

Due to the unanimous international condemnation of the persecution of this quietist (apolitical) religious community, Iranian authorities do not always admit that the Baha'is are being punished for their religious beliefs. Therefore, judicial authorities have often wrongfully charged Baha'is with offenses such as "being involved in counter-revolutionary activities," "having supported the former regime," "being agents of Zionism," or "being involved with prostitution, adultery, and immorality." 

Evidence of Guilt

Based on an announcement by The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin, the accused “considered themselves members of the Universal House of Justice of Haifa and considered their orders obligatory to obey and had direct or indirect connection with Israel” (Kayhan Daily Newspaper June 11, 1982). There is no further information about the evidence used against Mr. Abbasi.

Defense

Mr. Abbasi refused to recant his faith under pressure from the judge and prison authorities (Shahram Mansuri November 1983). There is no other information available about a defense used by the accused.

The representatives of the Baha'i community stress that their members are being persecuted for their religious beliefs. They refute the validity of charges such as counter-revolutionary political activities or spying leveled against them in Iranian courts. They point out that the fundamental principles of their religion require them to show loyalty and obedience to their government and refrain from any political involvement. They believe that the accusation of espionage for Israel is unfounded and based solely on the fact that the Baha'i World Center is in Israel. They point out that this center was established on Mount Carmel in the late 19th century, long before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Judgment

The Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin and The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic convicted Mr. Mohammad Abbasi as “being a member of ‘Qiam-e Melli-e Iran’” and sentenced him to death and the confiscation of his property (Kayhan Daily Newspaper June 11, 1982).

As stated in a letter sent by Shahram Mansuri from India (November 1983), on July 8th or 9th, 1982 (90 days after his arrest) at around 9:00 PM, Mr. Abbasi was informed that he would be executed and was asked to write any last words. Jamal Mobarak, who was a witness present, reported that Mr. Abbasi and four others were escorted out of the prison, to an area outside the city in a truck with their hands tied and eyes covered. Around 11:00 PM, the five individuals were tied to a tree and executed by shooting. The witness to their execution was a truck driver, whose car had broken down on the side of the road (Shahram Mansuri, November 1983). Mr. Abbasi was shot three times (Siavash Mahboob, November 22, 1982).

The bodies were loaded back to the truck and driven to a hospital, where the body of Mr. Abbasi, and three other Baha’is, were kept in a morgue room without cooling capacity (Shahram Mansuri November 1983). At the time of transferring the bodies, they were in bad shape and Mr. Abbasi’s body was completely swollen (Siavash Mahboob, November 22, 1982).

The body of Mr. Mohammad Abbasi was released to his widow, Mrs. Zivar Abbasi (ABPI Letter from the Prosecutor of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Qazvin to the Director of Imam Sadeq Hospital, July 10, 1981) two days later and he was buried in the presence of his family in Kakin Village, on the outskirts of Qazvin (ABPI, Bio).

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1- ‘Slow Death for Iran’s Baha’is’ by Richard N. Ostling, Time Magazine,20 February 1984. Also see ‘The Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran, 1844-1984, by Douglas Martin, Baha’i Studies,volume 12/13, 1984, p. 3. There is no information about the current number of Baha’is in Iran.
2- The Islamic Republic Penal Code grants no rights to Baha'is, and the courts have denied them the right to redress or to protection against assault, murder, and other forms of persecution and abuse. In so doing, the courts have treated Baha'is as unprotected citizens or "apostates," citing eminent religious authorities whose edicts are considered to be a source of law equal to acts of Parliament. The Founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, made execution a punishment for the crime of apostasy and decreed that a Muslim would not be punished for killing an apostate. 

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